UK footfall in 2020 dropped to lowest ever recorded at -39.1%

Now the dust has settled on 2020, it’s revealed that annual footfall across all UK retail destinations plunged to its lowest ever recorded level at -39.1% - compared to 2019 - as “COVID-19 changed the retail industry forever.”

The data comes from retail experts Springboard and the annual footfall review "The Year That Was 2020", which looks at the performance of retail encompassing trends in footfall, store sales, capture rates and consumer confidence from January to December, 2020. There was only a marginal difference between the individual UK nations.

Six periods of 2020 are defined in the report: Pre-COVID, Lockdown 1, Retail & Hospitality reopening, Lockdown 2, Tiered Reopening, Tier 4/Lockdown 3.

The overall loss of footfall across the UK unsurprisingly translated into a huge decline in sales in bricks and mortar stores of -20% in 2020 compared with a decline of just -3% in 2019. With bricks and mortar non-essential retailers closed, online spending increased significantly. From representing 19.1% of total retail spending in 2019, online spending as a whole rose to 27.4% of total retail spending in 2020.

With more shoppers having been introduced to online shopping, Springboard forecast that post-COVID this will rebase at a higher level than before the global pandemic, as a proportion of those online shoppers who were previously "store only" shoppers are likely to continue to use this channel for at least some purchases.

The biggest drop in footfall was seen in week 16, which began 16 April, 2020, during Lockdown 1, with the largest uplift seen in week 25, which began 14 June, 2020, when non-essential retail stores opened in England.

Of the three destination types, it was retail parks which proved the most resilient in retaining shoppers throughout 2020, with an overall drop in footfall of -23% in comparison to shopping centres -41.9% and high streets -45.2%.

Springboard identifies that retail parks are, by nature, perfectly set up to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, as not only do the majority have the advantage of food stores being located there, but they are easy to access by car, so rely little on public transport. Also, car parking tends to be free, plentiful and outdoors, and stores are large which made social distancing far easier to achieve.

Also evident in the report was the “rise of localism” as much of the nation started to work from home from March onwards, and social distancing and the message “stay local” rang loud and clear. Subsequently, local high streets got a new lease of life.

Of the high streets across the UK, it was the market towns, coastal towns and historic towns that were far more resilient in terms of retaining shoppers compared to regional cities - which recorded drops up to -58% in comparison to market towns -36.6%, coastal towns -37.4% and historic towns -44.2%.

However, this rise in localism was at the expense of the beating heart of the UK’s economy, as Central London was the hardest hit with a drop in footfall from 2019 of a whopping -58.7%. That was due to the loss of not only the working population who stayed local, but also the immediate drop in domestic visitors and overseas tourists.

Springboard says that as we look to the post COVID-19 era, prospects for bricks and mortar stores and retail destinations should not be written off. Post Lockdown 1 and 2, Springboard data highlighted consumers need for human experience and interaction in retail as footfall rose by +40.3% in the first week following the easing of restrictions of both Lockdown 1 and Lockdown 2. “The longer consumers are subject to restrictions, the greater the desire for this will be,” says the report.

Springboard forecasts that the retail industry will “bounce back” and it is those who have adapted to the post-COVID era which will succeed in the long term in an industry which is continuing to evolve at speed.

Diane Wehrle, Insights Director at Springboard, commented: “To use the word 'unprecedented' truly underplays the impact that COVID-19 has had on the retail industry as businesses large and small fought for survival. However, as the vaccine is successfully rolled out across the UK in 2021, this offers hope for retailers in the second half of the year, albeit with social distancing measures still in place.

“If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it is the need we all have for human interaction and sensory satisfaction, and this is likely to drive visits and spend in stores and destinations.  What is likely to continue to change in 2021 is the types of destinations that consumers visit, and the frequency and when they do so. Much of this change will be driven by the shift to home working.”