Footfall growth improves but one in every Scots eleven shops remain vacant

The result was the best performance since March 2015 and is ahead of the UK average.

However, the vacancy rate in Scotland was 9.1 per cent in January, which was up from 8.7 per cent in the previous quarter.

Across the UK, footfall was 1.2 per cent up for the first month of 2016 on a year ago, and significantly above the 2.2 per cent decline seen in December.

It is the best performance since January 2014, excluding Easter distortions.

Footfall in British retail park locations increased 5.2 per cent year-on-year, its best performance for two years. This is well ahead of December’s 2.1 per cent rise and above the 3-month average rate of 3.0 per cent.

High Streets reported their first rise in footfall since July 2013, excluding Easter distortions, and was significantly ahead of December’s 4.0 per cent decline. Footfall growth in Shopping Centres was broadly flat in January, it best performance since January 2014.

The national town centre vacancy rate was 8.7 per cent in January 2016, down from the 9.1 per cent rate reported in October 2015. This is the lowest reported rate since we began reporting the data in July 2011

David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “This second successive month of growth in shopper footfall is encouraging, and may point to a more positive start to the year for retailers after what was a decidedly downbeat 2015 as a whole for the industry in Scotland. This is the best footfall performance since last March, ahead of the 3-month average and with Scotland marginally outperforming the UK as a whole.

“By contrast however, the deterioration in the shop vacancy rate is less welcome. One in every eleven shops in our town centres is empty, higher than the comparable figure for the UK. There is no more pressing issue for the industry than the prohibitive cost of business rates, which has moved in the eyes of many retailers from an irritation to mission critical in recent years. The further across the board rates rise due in April, coupled with the extra £60 million rates surcharge set to be levied on retailers and others operating from medium sized and larger premises, only compounds the burden. The Scottish Government’s promise to fundamentally review the tax this summer heralds a crucial opportunity to recast business rates and reduce the burden for the decades ahead.”

Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director at Springboard, which collated the figures with the SRC, said: “Footfall increased in all types of retail destinations across the UK, and whilst in Scotland footfall in shopping centres declined by 3.3 per cent, the overall result of 1.5 per cent was the best since March 2015 driven by a rise of 3 per cent in the high street. Tracking footfall since 2009 has shown that it is the post 5pm period that has been most resilient, with improvements in daytime footfall following an increase in activity in the evening.

“Alongside footfall, spending across the UK rose in January led by furniture and hospitality which potentially has longer term benefits by increasing shoppers’ awareness of store offerings and driving up spend through longer dwell times and the “family effect” whereby the family shopping group typically increases transactions values.

“Whilst the vacancy rate across the UK improved, in Scotland it rose from 8.7 per cent to 9.1 per cent. Evidence shows the driving force in the drop in vacancies across the UK to be an increase in pop-ups and temporary lets in the run up to Christmas and which are still occupied. It seems that Scotland’s retail destinations are lagging behind in the demand from occupiers for space which is a challenge moving forward into 2016.”