Sharpest decline in Scottish footfall for almost three years

The Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) attributed the worst footfall performance since January 2013, wcich was also well below the three-month average rate of -1.8 per cent, to shoppers staying home to make online purchases instead.

The SRC said footfall was impacted by Black Friday promotions which saw consumers opting to buy online instead of in-stores.

Meanwhile, across the UK, footfall in last month was also down, at 2.1 per cent lower than a year ago it was significantly below the 0.2 per cent decline in October and underperformed the three-month average of -0.8 per cent.

However, footfall in retail park locations increased 2.0 per cent year-on-year but this was still below October’s high of 2.9 per cent, while high streets and shopping centres saw a further decline in footfall, falling to 3.4 per cent and 2.8 per cent respectively.

Only two regions reported positive footfall growth in November, the East Midlands and Greater London.

David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “Shopper footfall in Scotland’s town centres last month recorded its worst performance in almost three years, as consumers sought to take advantage of online ‘Black Friday’ promotions and discounts which often ranged across several days. As a result November was the seventh month in a row in which shopper footfall in our town centres declined.

“Until the November data for Scottish retail sales is published later this week we won’t know what impact this plunge in footfall and surge in online shopping has on the total value of sales. Those retailers with a strong multichannel offer - allowing customers to shop in-store, at home and on the move - will have been well placed to capitalise on this further milestone in the development of our digital economy.

“Retailers will be hoping that the Finance Minister’s twiddling of the fiscal dials in the Scottish Government’s Budget this week will help lift consumer spirits and generate greater levels of confidence and propensity to spend going forward. The retail industry is undergoing profound structural change at a time of weak demand and falling shop prices, and this requires supportive government policies which keep a tight lid on costs such as business rates, other taxes and levies and regulation.”

Diane Wehrle, Marketing and Insights Director at Springboard, which also collected the data, said: “The learning from the UK wide November footfall result indicates the winners were those destinations that continue to adopt the old school rules of retail – the three C’s of convenience, choice and customer service. Retail parks have these core principles at the heart of their offer, and as a result footfall has increased annually in Scotland’s retail parks in all but one of the past 26 consecutive months, with an average increase of 5.2 per cent over this period in contrast with an average drop in footfall of 1.7 per cent in Scotland’s high streets and -2.3 per cent in shopping centres. Shoppers are increasingly seeking out this traditional retail destination as either an alternative or complement to online as they have an expanding breadth of offer, together with a core edit of retail brands to choose from.

“There is an evident need for urban shopping destinations to see 2016 as an opportunity to focus on cracking the perennial issue of convenient parking options for shoppers, as most retail parks offer this free of charge. Such changes as improving easy access to town centres could ensure the decline in footfall observed in November, and throughout the year, is mitigated next year.”