Springboard’s monthly footfall insights for December show Christmas shoppers provided retail and hospitality a crucial boost, despite the cost-of-living crisis and rail strikes. Footfall increased by 5.8% in December from November, with a 9.9% uplift compared to 2021. The gap to 2019 also narrowed, with December footfall levels -10.9% below 2019 compared to -11.4% in November.
According to the data, footfall in high streets was 12.7% higher than in 2021 (+5.6% in November), +10.3% higher than 2021 in shopping centres (+5% in November) and +3.6% higher than in 2021 in retail parks (+0.7% in November).
In the penultimate week before Christmas when four days of rail strikes occurred the gap from the 2019 footfall level more than doubled to -20.1% from -9.6% in the week before.
Consumers shifted some of their trips away from high streets in December, to shopping centres and retail parks which can be more easily reached by car.
Footfall in January is likely to be circa 20% lower than in December, says Springboard’s insights director Diane Wehrle.
