UK retail footfall tumbles in November - BRC

Retail footfall tumbled in November, industry data showed on Friday, hit by stormy weather, weak consumer confidence and tough comparatives.

The latest Sensormatic footfall monitor from the British Retail Consortium showed total UK footfall fell 4.5% in November year-on-year.

Within that, high street footfall slid 3.7%, in retail parks it fell 1.1% - a notable reversal of October’s 4.8% uplift - and in shopping centres there was a 6.1% slump.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, called the fall "disappointing".

She continued: "A later-than-usual Black Friday and low consumer confidence meant customers were hesitant to hit the shops. Some northern cities also suffered particularly badly due to Storm Bert, which caused travel disruption towards the end of the month."

The data covers the four weeks to 23 November, but the discount-heavy Black Friday falls on 29 November this year.

Dickinson continued: "Retailers remain hopeful that the Black Friday and Christmas sales will help to turn around the declining footfall seen through most of 2024."

Andy Sumpter, EMEA retail consultant for Sensormatic, said: "Consumer confidence remains volatile, perhaps not helped by post-Budget spending jitters and shoppers withholding festive purchases, opting instead to shop around for the best prices or hold out for further discounting.

"This lacklustre footfall will have come as a blow for many retailers, who would have been counting of getting early Christmas trading results under their belts before the start of advent.

"However, these figures do not include Black Friday and the Saturday of the Black Friday weekend - tipped as one of the busiest days for store shopping during peak trading - which will hopefully jump start seasonal shopping.

"Now all eyes turn to December, where retailers hope to make up for lost ground and turn around their festive fortunes."