Retail footfall in Wales decreased by 5.8% in the crucial trading month of December shows new research from the Welsh Retail Consortium.
The year-on -year (YoY) decline in Wales compared to a 0.4% fall in November. The fall was bigger than the UK average decrease of 5%. All nations and regions of the UK experienced a YoY dip, with Scotland down 2.2%, Northern Ireland 4.7% and England 5.8%. The biggest decline, 8.8%, was in the north-east of England.
An analysis of core cities shows Cardiff experiencing a YoY decline of 8.7% ( down 0.4% in November), which was only worse in Manchester, down 9.3%, and Glasgow with a fall of 9.6%. The only cities to see YoY improvements were Edinburgh, up 6.4%, and Leeds 0.5%.
In December shopping centre footfall decreased by 12% in YoY in Wales, which was 1.6 percentage points worse than in November.
Sara Jones, head of the Welsh Retail Consortium, said:“Visits to Welsh stores tumbled in December compared to the same period the year before, during what traditionally is seen as the busiest trading month of the year. This was the eighth successive monthly decline and rounded off a drab final trading quarter of the year for stores in Wales. Footfall fell across all destinations.
“There’s little denying these are dispiriting figures for retailers with physical bricks and mortar premises, many of whom were hoping for a good Christmas to help weather ever increasing costs and tide them over the traditionally leaner months early in the new year. That said, around a third of non-food retail sales are now purchased online and retailers are increasingly adept at harnessing technology to get through to consumers who may not have the time or inclination to travel to physical shops.
“This remains a period of significant flux for Welsh retail. Sluggish demand, elevated supply chain and government-mandated cost pressures, and an uncertain economic outlook are all weighing on stores. The structural, economic, and regulatory changes affecting retail show few signs of abating.”
Andy Sumpter, retail consultant for Sensormatic Solutions, which carried out the research for the Welsh Retail Consortium, said:“One of the wettest Decembers on record combined with dampened consumer confidence and ongoing spending caution meant some retailers may have been left disappointed in last month’s footfall performance.
“ While we saw festive glimmers of shopper traffic peaks in and around discounting days, such as Boxing Day when footfall improved 39.2% week-on-week, many may have been waiting for a last-minute Christmas trading rush that never came. There’s little doubt that the overall downward year-on-year trajectory in store visits in December will have come as a blow. Retailers will be hoping that demand improves as inflation starts to ease and the impact of the inflationary spending squeeze on disposable incomes softens.”
