Shopper numbers drop by -23% in the wettest February on record.
● Average weekly footfall in non-food stores sunk to a record low in February, down -14.2% year-on-year and down -23.0% on January’s level.
● The hardest hit stores were in Northern England (-16.8% year-on-year) and the Midlands (-16.3% year-on-year).
● Despite containing Valentine’s Day, the quietest week of the month was w/c 9 February. It represented the second lowest point ever measured by the Retail Traffic Index (RTI), produced by Ipsos Retail Performance, the retail insights company, after w/c 25 February 2018, when the ‘Beast from the East’ struck the country.
Dr. Tim Denison, Director of Retail Intelligence at Ipsos Retail Performance said: “For the past 14 years, February has been the month of the year when average weekly footfall is at its quietest. That said, last month was unprecedented. The 23% drop on January is over twice as much as the average since the turn of the century.
“This underlines the battering impact that storms such as Ciara, Dennis and Jorge have had on day-to-day life and retail businesses. For multiple retailers equipped with internet shopping capabilities, the sales ramifications may be cushioned, but for local independent stores, the wettest February on record will hit them hard.
“In addition to the rain, the arrival of the coronavirus has twisted the knife still further this month. For retail destinations most attractive to Asian tourists, footfall was hit hard.
“While bad weather may come and go, we are simply unsure about the longevity and reach that Covid-19 will have on day-to-day life.
“It may lead to local lockdowns which would damage domestic as well as tourist trade for months to come. It is ironic that just after Brexit is finally done, and consumer confidence enjoys a boost, another contagion hits the country.”
