Storm Ciara, which hit the UK the weekend of 8th February, saw UK retail footfall down -15.3%, according to the latest data from Ipsos Retail Performance.
The most affected region was the North West of England, will footfall down -18.3% YoY.
Meanwhile, Storm Dennis, which struck on the weekend of 15th February, saw footfall down -16.3%. The South West and West Midlands were the most affected, with footfall down -23.5% and -20.8% respectively.
Dr Tim Denison, director of retail intelligence at Ipsos Retail Performance, comments: “The two weekends had similar impacts at a UK level, as you might expect. This is quite typical of the impact on footfall of major winter storms, though not as dramatic as white-outs of previous years.
“Dennis’ impact was more localised, given the storm was more about rainfall than windy conditions.
“Weather is always used by retailers to blame poor sales performances, but there is genuine cause to do so when extreme weather conditions hit the country. People simply don’t want to risk going out unless they have to.”
