Retail footfall takes a dip
As footfall for Northern Ireland fares worst across the UK for June, agendaNi takes a look at shopping trends.
The number of shoppers in Northern Ireland took a dip in June, falling 3.5 per cent compared to the same time last year.
It was the second consecutive month that numbers dropped. Prior to this, May experienced a 0.4 per cent year-on-year dip in shoppers. This was down on the 1.2 per cent rise in April.
The statistics were released by the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium and Springboard. Footfall was monitored for the period 31 May to 4 July.
Northern Ireland’s rate for the sixth month of the year was below the weighted UK average for June of 1.5 per cent. Only five regions reported footfall above this average. The UK three month footfall average for April to June was -1.1 per cent.
June’s outcome was the worst performance for the retail industry in the region since October 2014. It was also the worst performance out of all the UK’s regions. In England, the south east fared worst, experiencing a 3.1 per cent dip while Wales fell 3.0 per cent and Scotland dropped 2.4 per cent.
Footfall in shopping centres in Northern Ireland also fell in June by 5.7 per cent which was the third continuous drop this year. The UK also reported a decline of 2.4 per cent in shopping centre numbers for June. This was in line with the April to June average.
Meanwhile, the latest figures marked the first time in five months that High Street footfall was negative in Northern Ireland. It took a downward turn in June with a drop of 2.7 per cent compared with an increase of 1.2 per cent in May. For the UK, the High Street was down 2.8 per cent, much lower than the quarter two average of -1.6 per cent.
It was good news, however, for retail parks with a year-on-year increase of 2.8 per cent. It’s an improvement on May’s result when footfall was up 1.4 per cent and a continuation of its positive trend as April was also up 0.5 per cent.
Aodhán Connolly, Director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, said: “There is no denying the fact that these results are decidedly sluggish, with Northern Ireland recording the weakest footfall figures of any part of the UK last month.
He added that looking forward, retailers will be hoping the Budget “will help lift consumer spirits and generate greater levels of confidence and propensity to spend.”
Discussing the downturn in High Street and shopping centre footfall, Diane Wehrle, Marketing and Insights Director at Springboard, said: “These results are undoubtedly a function of the continuing dilution of shopper numbers through online trading, however, the rise in footfall in retail parks across the UK in June is clear evidence that it is still possible to drive up the volume of customers to bricks and mortar stores, albeit in part this is a function of owner driven improvements in their quality and offer.
“Due to the multiplicity of ownerships and interests, it is not possible for high streets to easily benefit from wholesale owner driven change, although this is something that shopping centres should be more able to capitalise on.
“Inevitably, however, this type of change is a longer term goal, and so in the short term retailers need to compare and contrast locations in terms of footfall to understand which ones are withstanding the growing structural changes in the retail sector and so represent the best opportunities for growth and expansion,” she concluded.
