Retailers brace for tough Christmas as strikes hit footfall

Retailers looked set for a subdued Christmas on Monday, after rail strikes and the cold weather deterred already hard-pressed shoppers.

According to retail consultancy Springboard, UK footfall in the week beginning 11 December fell 4.6% on the previous week, or 0.9% year-on-year. Compared to the same week in 2019, it was off 20.1%.

Within that, footfall fell 1.8% year-on-year on high streets and retail parks, and rose 1.8% at shopping centres.

Week-on-week, footfall tumbled 10.2% on high streets, hit by both the rail strikes and cold snap, which saw snow and freezing temperatures across much of the UK.

Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard, said: "The week prior to Christmas should have been a peak trading week for retail destinations and stores, with footfall expected to rise from the week before as Christmas shopping moves towards its zenith.

"Instead, footfall took a tumble. While the cold weather prevailed, which would undoubtedly have had some impact, the contrasts with the results for the week before clearly demonstrate that it was the rail strikes that where the key impact on footfall."

Retailers have been hit hard this year as soaring inflation, rising interest rates and record energy bills have seen consumers cut back on spending. December is one of retail’s most critical months, but as well as the cost of living crisis, retailers have been further hit by widespread industrial action and the cold weather.

While Springboard expects footfall to rise across all three destination types during the month, it is likely to be "more subdued than in previous years". On high streets Springboard predicts footfall will increase 4.5%, by 5% in retail parks and by 10% in shopping centres.

On Friday, official data from the Office for National Statistics showed retail sales had declined by 0.4% in November, following a 0.9% increase in October, when they bounced back from the impact of the additional bank holiday in September. Analysts had been expecting a 0.3% improvement in sales in November.

According to Pantheon Macroeconomics, retail sales are now around 1.5% below their 2019 average, compared to 3% above at the start of the year.