UK footfall drops in February but optimism in the air

UK footfall across all retail destinations saw a 2.2% decline year-on-year in February, despite school half-term falling in the third week of the month – a key factor in driving up figures.

Store closures, rail strikes and storms continued to challenge retailers, as well as the ongoing financial pressures on consumers.

The drop was largely driven by a dip in footfall of 3.5% in high streets, followed by shopping centres at -2.3%. However, retail parks saw a marginal rise of 0.9%, according to MRI Software.

Footfall across UK retail destinations rose 8.3% in February compared to January, which continues to follow historical trends of footfall rebounding following the post-Christmas slump.

Jenni Matthews, Marketing & Insights Director at OnLocation for Footfall Analytics MRI Software, said: "As we head into March, retail destinations should approach this with optimism as the second largest trading period falls towards the end of the month, which is Easter. Falling a week earlier than last year, this shift will allow retail destinations to benefit from the holiday build up starting around the third week of the month.

"Despite consumer confidence falling by two points in February, as published by GFK, the outlook for the next 12 months remains strong as consumers continue to spend despite the cost-of-living crisis.

"The metric which measures people’s personal finance situation for the next 12 months highlighted stability, as this had not slipped back and was actually 18 points higher than last February.

"This suggests that consumers are maintaining control over their finances and budgeting accordingly for the year ahead, with relief coming in the form of reduced energy bills and optimism that inflation and interest rates may also be set to fall."