‘Drab’ December caps disappointing year for retailers

A “drab” December has capped a disappointing year for retailers and the second in a row of falling shopper numbers, figures show.

Even the Golden Quarter, typically the peak of shopping activity ahead of Christmas, provided little relief, with shopper visits down 2.5% over the period on 2023, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-Sensormatic Footfall Monitor.

Total UK footfall over the year was down 2.2% on the year before.

Northern Ireland experienced the biggest decline at 5.8%, followed by Wales, down 2.6%, England (2.1%) and Scotland (1.5%).

High streets and shopping centres were hit particularly hard throughout the year as people veered towards retail parks to take advantage of free parking and the variety of larger stores, the BRC said.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “A drab December which saw fewer shoppers in all locations capped a disappointing year for UK retail footfall.

“Shopping habits have been changing fast and customers are increasingly looking for more experiential shopping, as well as a variety of cafes, services and things to do.

“Unfortunately, investment in town centres and high streets is held back by our outdated business rates system, which penalises town and city centres.

“The Government’s proposals to reform business rates may ease the burden for some retailers, but it is vital that, ultimately, no shop ends up paying more in rates than before.”

Andy Sumpter, from Sensormatic, said: “As footfall limped towards the festive finish line, December’s lacklustre performance compounds a disappointing end to 2024, marking the second consecutive year of declining store traffic.

“Retailers will now need to look afresh to 2025 and chart a course to adopt innovative strategies to reverse this trend or maximise the sales potential of fewer visitors, finding new ways to make each store visit count.”

MRI Software’s recent Consumer Pulse report found 51% of consumers were concerned about the rising cost of living over the next six months, driven by higher energy and housing costs during the winter.

Last week, separate figures from analysts Rendle Intelligence suggested this Christmas appeared to have been “disastrous” for retailers, with footfall down 11.4% on last year over the final full week before Christmas.

Even on Super Saturday – the final Saturday before Christmas Day, typically the peak shopping day of the year – footfall was just 4.1% higher than the previous Saturday, and only 0.9% higher than the same Saturday a year earlier.

Published: 03/01/2025 by Radio NewsHub