According to BRC-Sensormatic data, retail parks led the way as overall shopper footfall enjoyed a small YoY bounce in February.
Total UK footfall increased by +0.2% YoY in February, down from 6.6% in January.
High street footfall increased by +0.1% in February, down from 4.5% in January. Retail park footfall increased by +2.0% YoY, down from 7.9% in January, and shopping centre footfall increased by +0.1%, down from 7.4% in January.
Footfall increased YoY for both Wales, up by +2.7%, and England, up by +0.2%. However, Northern Ireland saw a YoY decrease of -0.1%, and Scotland a decline of -0.3%.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), says: “Footfall increased for the second consecutive month, with retail parks continuing to outperform other retail destinations. The variety of larger retail outlets and the option of free parking enticed customers to visit retail parks over their local high street or shopping centre, which saw only marginal improvements. Strong investment in retail parks and fewer empty stores has led to consistent positive shopper traffic over the past year."
Andy Sumpter, retail consultant EMEA for Sensormatic, adds: “After January’s jumpstart, retail footfall in February stalled, with retailers seeing only the slimmest improvements compared to 2024 last month.
"While the good news is that shopper counts remained steady, many would have been hoping for a more substantial leap building off a strong start to the year. Retail parks, consistently one of the top performers in 2024, once again outstripped other retail destinations in February, as the convenience and choice built into their retail offerings again proved popular with customers.
"With Easter falling late and well into April this year, this will, undoubtedly, put added pressure on retailers as we head into March. To plug the gap, retailers have an opportunity to create compelling reasons to visit and enhance their offerings with greater convenience and choice, which have been the standout strengths of retail park performance.”
