Second wave of coronavirus turns tide on UK footfall recovery

Year-on-year UK retail footfall decreased by 33.5% in October, with a 3.4 percentage point decline from September, according to research from the BRC and ShopperTrak.

High streets and shopping centres fared worse of all as the public shunned city centres in favour of out of town locations with their on-site parking.

Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive at British Retail Consortium, says: “While footfall remains well below pre-pandemic levels, the slow recovery since April has come to an end in October with footfall falling across all retail locations.”

“More recently, the government’s announcement of a second national lockdown led to a brief resurgence in footfall this week as the public sought to buy much needed items and Christmas gifts before ‘non-essential’ stores were forced to close their doors for a second time.”

“Today’s lockdown is likely to see footfall plummet to the depths seen during the previous closures, putting hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk. Despite investment in online and Click and Collect services it is unlikely closed retailers will be able to make up for lost ground,” Dickinson adds.

“Any extension to the lockdown beyond 3rd December would be catastrophic for ‘non-essential’ retail businesses so we urge the government to commit to allowing them to reopen from this date safe in the knowledge that the previous reopening did not lead to any spike in infections.”

Andy Sumpter, Retail Consultant – EMEA of ShopperTrak, comments: “In the first lockdown, we saw shopper traffic bottom out at -85%, and we expect November to follow the same trajectory, meaning retailers now face the prospect of a bleak, rather than a Black Friday.”