Scottish vacancy rate sees slight fall despite January footfall decline - SRC

This was lower than the average vacancy rate for the UK, which dropped to 9.4 per cent in January 2017 from 9.5 per cent in October 2016.

Footfall fell by 1.1 per cent year-on-year in Scotland in January, the steepest fall since July 2016, and deeper than the three-month average of -0.3 per cent, but above the twelve-month average of -1.3 per cent.

Footfall fell on the High Street and in Shopping Centres, but rose in Retail Parks, the second highest rise of all the nations/regions in this particular destination.

Ewan MacDonald-Russell, SRC Head of Policy & External Affairs at the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “Overall footfall in Scottish retail destinations dipped slightly to a three-month average decline of 0.3 percent, after a disappointing January. Footfall rose in November, but a flat end to the year followed by a drop in January – which recorded the steepest monthly decline since July 2016 - is a concern after what was otherwise a good Christmas trading period performance.

“Looking below the overall figures there is a mixed picture. High Street and Retail Park footfall are both in line with the three-month trend, albeit they had very different Januarys with retail parks seeing a rise whilst high street footfall fell back. Shopping centres though had a tough month. The shop vacancy rate held broadly steady at nine percent, with one in eleven stores in our town centres now lying empty.

“What these figures show is that trading conditions continue to be tough for physical retailers. With shopper footfall easing down at a time when cost pressures from public policy are building it’s vital in the short term at least that government doesn’t add further additional burdens to retailers already struggling with rates bills and apprenticeship levies, or to consumers facing rising council tax bills. However, the current situation is not sustainable, and it’s clear that fundamental reform of the punitive business rates system is urgently needed to take the pressure off hard pressed retailers.”

Diane Wehrle, Marketing and Insights Director at Springboard, which helped compile the data, added: “The -1.3 per cent drop in footfall across the UK’s bricks and mortar destinations in January may be a sign of tougher things to come for 2017. Not only was it a noticeably larger drop than the -0.2 per cent in December; but it was the steepest decline since June 2016, when footfall was impacted in the preceding weeks and in the immediate aftermath of the EU referendum.

“As it did across the UK, in Scotland the decline in footfall accelerated to -1.3 per cent in January from -0.3 per cent in December. In contrast with the UK, however, footfall in Scotland’s retail parks rose by +3.7 per cent in January, a strong performance compared with the drop of -3.2 per cent in Scotland in December and -0.4 per cent in UK retail parks in January.

“The vacancy rate in Scotland of 9 per cent - lower than the UK rate of 9.4 per cent - has dropped from 9.2 per cent in October. The vacancy rate reflects footfall and sales, lagging behind both of these, which helps to explain this rise as it follows two consecutive months of rising footfall in Scotland. The UK rate has improved from 9.5 per cent in October which demonstrates that retail destinations are adapting – the goal for Scotland’s destinations is to keep pace.”