The Retail Insights firm Springboard shows that January 2019 brought some stability for bricks and mortar stores. The footfall in retail parks rose by just 1.4 percent from January last year, which Springboard has stated demonstrates ‘ their ability to bridge the gap between functionality and experience, and cater for the needs of today’s efficient shopper.’
Diane Wehrle, Springboard marketing and insights director, said: “January was the first month since March 2017, and only the third month in four years, that footfall in shopping centres rose; and whilst a rise of +0.2 percent is only a modest increase it brings some much-needed hope for this destination type that has consistently lost shoppers for over two years. It seems that this is an early sign that the regeneration schemes long-planned by owners to broaden the offer of malls to incorporate a greater experiential element, particularly in the larger malls, are working and they now better reflect consumers demands.
