Retailers suffer Boxing Day blow as coronavirus restrictions bite
UK retail footfall slumped -87% YoY on Boxing Day, according to Sensormatic data from ShopperTrak.
Total footfall dropped to its lowest point since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with high streets worst affected as shopper numbers fell to -92% compared to 2019.
This was due to tightened Covid-19 restrictions, forcing non-essential retail businesses to close in tier 4 areas, and also the decision by many retailers, including Aldi, Asda, John Lewis and M&S, to close their stores on Boxing Day to give staff an extra day off.
Even in tier 2 and 3 areas where non-essential retail remained open, the news was bad. Liverpool, for instance, currently in tier 2, saw footfall down -67% YoY.
Andy Sumpter, Sensormatic’s Retail Consultant EMEA for ShopperTrak, comments: “With further tier 4 restrictions coming into force at midnight on Boxing Day, plunging almost half of the population into the strictest bracket, it’s unsurprising shoppers stayed away as retailers were once again forced to close.”
Retailers have been dealt yet another blow as Storm Bella threatens to further dampen shoppers’ spirits, he adds.
Sumpter concludes: “While the figures make for grim reading, the high street’s fight for survival is far from over.”
“Time and again, we’ve seen the public’s continued support for local stores return when retail has reopened.”
“Retailers will be hoping, when restrictions are eased and they can reopen, that consumers will once again vote with their feet and deliver valuable trade to high street businesses.”
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