Towards the end of last year, things seemed as if they were looking up for the high street. Despite the loss of JJB Sports, stores were beginning to report more positive sales figures than have been seen in some time in the run up to Christmas, with John Lewis emerging the unchallenged victor with several consecutive days of record sales.
All in all, the outlook appeared considerably brighter than it had for some time, as consumers seemed to brush off the threat of further economic woes by losing themselves in the festive spirit.
Unfortunately, the arrival of the New Year and the harsh reality of three popular chains being forced into administration soon put an end to any residual cheer in Britain’s town centres. And the news continues to get worse, as it has emerged that the positive vibe over the Christmas trading period did not necessarily equate to high numbers of consumers taking to the streets.
In fact, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has revealed that consumer footfall across the UK actually dropped by1.2 per cent from the figure recorded in December 2011. This is despite a 7.5 per cent rise in the number of shoppers taking to the streets in the week leading up to Christmas Day, which the BRC had predicted would have a positive effect upon consumer footfall figures.
According to the figures released this week, Wales experienced the greatest drop in shoppers heading to their local stores, with 11.5 per cent less choosing to carry out their Christmas shopping in in the high street than last year. This was closely followed by the east of England, which saw a 7.1 per cent plunge in consumer numbers.
Further drops in recorded footfall were posted in the south west, north and East Midlands regions of England.
Yet, surprisingly, the high street outperformed both shopping centres and out of town retail parks in terms of the drop in footfall. It sustained only a 0.5 per cent dip, compared to a 2.8 per cent and 1.0 per cent fall respectively.
Furthermore, not all areas of the UK saw a drop in shopper numbers. Scotland recorded an impressive 6.2 per cent leap in figures compared to the same period in the previous year, followed by a 3.1 per cent climb in London and a 0.6 per cent rise in Northern Ireland.
Despite these small victories, however, BRC director general Helen Dickinson was keen to point out that the main message in the report is that the high street is now in more peril than ever before, and that consumer footfall must be addressed to prevent further administrations of popular chains.
She said; “Weak spending power is keeping people away and compounding long standing difficulties in many of our town centres.
“The growing popularity of online retail also had an impact on shopper numbers, but it is important to remember that online retail sales are only just over 10 per cent of all retail spending and many people took advantage of the investment retailers have made in giving flexible delivery options.
“This month’s retail failures confirm the challenges are far from over.”
Far from being the triumphant return to profitability expected by a large number of British retailers, it seems that the first post-recession Christmas for four years failed to perform to the standards set by one embroiled in financial difficulties.
The question retailers must now be asking is what exactly it will take to encourage shoppers to begin spending once again. And should the fears of a triple dip recession prove correct, there could be yet more vacant commercial properties on the high street as retailers struggle to survive.
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