The level of shopping activity, as measured by retail footfall, picked up significantly in the final quarter of the year. If further proof were needed, the strong response by shoppers to heavy discounting in the clothing and footwear sector (after a mild autumn), Black Friday and the post-Christmas sales confirmed that we have become a “bargain nation.” Trips to exchange and return gifts also boosted numbers in the final week of the year.
This was the busiest quarter of the year, thanks to all the promotional activity and absence of severe weather conditions, and the only one to experience year-on-year growth. The upturn in footfall vindicated retailers’ decisions to stimulate demand following the slowdown in activity in Quarter 3, when footfall declined by -1.9%.
Store footfall levels in London and The South East were disappointing compared to the rest of the country. It reflects in part the greater readiness to shop on-line in the south of the country.
Dr Tim Denison, Director of Retail Intelligence, Ipsos Retail Performance
