Storm Isha dampens early week footfall

Battering winds from Storm Isha hit retail over Sunday and Monday with footfall across all UK retail destinations down -4.6% on the week previous and down -5.1% on 2023 levels, according to the latest data from MRI Springboard.

Against 2023 levels, footfall on UK high streets slumped by -14.4% on Sunday with the drop in Central London hitting -20.8%.

MRI revealed Scotland and northern parts of England have been most impacted by Storm Isha. With major travel disruption experienced across Scotland, footfall yesterday dropped by -18.2% against the week previous in Scotland.

Jenni Matthews, head of Marketing and Insights at MRI Software, said: “As Storm Isha battered northern parts of the UK, footfall fell by -5.1% yesterday (Monday 22nd January) from last year across all retail destinations with high streets witnessing the steepest drop at -6.4% compared to -2.4% in retail parks and -4.7% in shopping centres.

“Regionally, Scotland’s footfall dropped by -18.2% week on week and by -19.7% year on year signalling the severity of the storm in this region. This was closely followed by the South West where footfall declined by -5.9% week on week and -8% year on year.”

She added: “As the day progressed, MRI Software’s Central London ‘Back to Office’ benchmark improved from witnessing a drop in footfall of up to -6.2% week on week up until midday to rebounding to +1.2% for the full day. This suggests that travel disruptions in Southern parts of England were temporary and many commuters likely delayed their journeys into the city.

“Compared with pre-pandemic levels, footfall remained -17.8% lower across all UK retail destinations. In Scotland this reached -29.4%, with high streets reaching -37.3% which further highlights the severity of the storm.”