BRC – Footfall decline in retail parks accelerates

• Footfall in February was 1.0 per cent down on a year ago. This is lower than the three-month average of 0.8 per cent, but slightly above the twelve-month average of -1.1 per cent.
• High Street footfall rose 0.1 per cent in February on the previous year?s rate of -2.9 per cent. This is the same rate as the three-month average of 0.1 per cent.
• Footfall in Retail Park locations fell 1.6 per cent in February, compared to a 2.5 per cent increase in February 2016. This is an acceleration on January?s fall of 0.4 per cent and below the three-month average of -0.9 per cent.
• Footfall in Shopping Centres fell 2.6 per cent in February on the -0.6 equivalent rate in the same month of 2016. This is marginally below the three-month average of -2.4 per cent.

Helen Dickinson OBE, chief-executive at British Retail Consortium said:??Visits to retail destinations fell by 1 per cent in February, which marks little change to what has been a familiar story over the past few years. Although, given the disappointing in-store sales so far in 2017, the decline in footfall last month is unsurprising.

?On closer inspection, there has been a steeper drop than normal in retail parks, with footfall to this shopping destination falling at the fastest rate since November 2013. In comparison, footfall on the high-street grew marginally, likely driven by its diverse offer.

?The modest relief fund for business rates announced in the Budget will hopefully go some way to helping those shops hardest hit, albeit only temporarily. It won?t however ease the burden for the majority of retailers who will continue to pay nearly a half of rental values in property tax. A business tax system that continues to curtail investment in bricks and mortar is at odds with an industry that desperately wants to invest in order to maintain local jobs and build more experience and engagement with shoppers to attract them into their stores.?

Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director at Springboard commented:??Footfall in February was a tale of two halves. Whilst footfall improved slightly with a drop of -1.0 per cent compared to -1.3 per cent in January however, this decline is not reflective of the stabilisation of consumer behaviour.

?Increasing uncertainty arising from the imminent triggering of Article 50 has certainly started to have an impact on purchasing behaviour, the types of destinations shoppers are visiting and how they spend their money. High Streets are clearly benefiting as the destination of choice for dining and leisure, whilst shopping centres continue to underperform as they struggle with a weak entertainment and leisure offer, coupled with increasing caution amongst consumers around retail spend.

“Retail parks experienced their biggest drop in footfall (-1.6 per cent) since November 2013 as spend on furniture and household items ? traditionally a significant footfall driver for retail parks ? weakened slightly in February. High Streets now have the opportunity to further promote their offer and pull in visitors to shop and dine.?