February footfall figures dip marginally

Footfall in February was 0.5% lower than a year ago, however it marked an improvement on the 1.2% fall in January. 

This is according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-Springboard Footfall and Vacancies Monitor which found the decline was above the three-month average of -0.8% and the best overall performance since May 2014.

Shopping centres reported the largest decline, falling 1.5% on the same time last year, while high streets experienced a 0.6% decline in footfall, up on the 1.6% decline in January.

Footfall in out-of-town locations performed best with a 1% increase year-on-year.

Eight out of 10 regions and nations of the UK showed an improvement in footfall in February, with only Greater London and the West Midlands reporting a worsening picture.

Helen Dickinson, director general at the BRC, said: “February largely saw good news overall with high footfall compared to the three month average, which was the best performance since May 2014. This was helped by a notable slowdown in a decline of high street footfall, as well as out of town strength.

“Although it’s usually traditional to see us putting our feet up after the Christmas rush and January sales this doesn’t seem to be the case for out of town shopping. We are still flocking for those big ticket items with an increase in footfall by one per cent.”