Figures show
According to the latest data from retail intelligence experts Springboard, footfall figures across UK high Streets, shopping centres and out of town retail parks showed a larger drop than forecast (-0.6 per cent).
This is indicative of a range of factors impacting on retail performance – inflation and interest rates, but also the fact that many stores were on sale prior to Black Friday. There is growing recognition amongst consumers that many discounts continue, and even increase, after Black Friday.
Retailers are also promoting more and more offers online rather than in-store. In fact, volume of online transactions rose by +11.3 per cent (figures , PCA Predict) over the seven days up to the end of the Thursday before Black Friday – indicating that the pre-Black Friday offers are likely to have diluted the impact of the day itself. This is evident by a rise in online transactions of just +5.5 per cent on Black Friday itself.
During retail trading hours of 9am to 5pm, however, footfall in high streets was more resilient than in shopping centres with a drop of -2.2 per cent versus -5.1 per cent in shopping centres. In retail parks footfall during retail trading hours rose marginally by +0.4 per cent.
It seems that many shoppers may have been using click and collect as yesterday (Saturday) footfall dropped by just -0.9 per cent across all destinations, and rose by +3.2 per cent in retail parks, which are hugely popular for collecting online purchases.
Diane Wehrle, Insights Director at Springboard said, “We’re likely to see footfall drop by a minimum of -4 per cent on Cyber Monday. This year Cyber Monday has been eclipsed by Black Friday – particularly as click and collect appeared to support footfall on Saturday.”
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