The latest footfall insights from MRI Software show that November steadied the ship for retail, as footfall increased marginally by 1.0% from October, as retailers get ready for a pivotal month of Christmas trading.
“Despite a challenging start to the month, with the return to school following the half term break and Storm Ciaran causing disruptions across the UK, this represents the strongest month on month result since 2017,” marketing and Insights Director at MRI Software, Jenni Matthews. “This may well be attributed to the Black Friday sales towards the end of the month, the final pre-Christmas payday for many, and the attraction of nationwide festive events that drew consumers to retail destinations.”
She highlighted that high streets experienced a marginal weekday increase in footfall of 0.7% from last year versus a weekend decline of 3.6%. “Across all retail destination types, weekdays outperformed weekends with a 0.9% rise versus a 1.9% drop from 2022. This suggest than an increasing number of people are heading into the office and maximising their time by heading out at lunch or after work to engage in festive celebrations and even some shopping.”
The BRC-Sensormatic IQ Footfall Monitor also released their latest retail figures for November. “A slight uptick in consumer confidence, as well as easing inflationary pressures and more predictable weather, led to an improvement in footfall compared to the previous month,” stated Helen Dickinson OBE, BRC chief executive.
“After a slow start, the month-long Black Friday sales helped to get shoppers out to their town and city centres.”
Added Bira’s ceo, Andrew Goodacre: “Although the November footfall was better than October, it is still down year on year. Thousands of independent retailers are concerned about trading in run up to the all-important festive period. Spending depends on consumer confidence, and for that we need stability. Inflation is falling so we must not increase interest rates any further so that consumers can confidently budget their expenditure. Finally, tomorrow is Small Business Saturday and we really hope this super event will bring out the shoppers to their local independent retailers.”
Top: Footfall increased marginally in November, with a slight uptick in consumer confidence.
