One month, two contrasting views on how retail footfall performed in March compared to both February and 12 months ago.
And prepare for more confusion for April with the British Retail Consortium (BRC) telling us to expect the later shift in the timing of this Easter holiday (18-21 April) distorting year-on-year comparisons for retail footfall in both April and March. It will lead to an artificially higher April reading, but lower March figures, the BRC said.
So what happened in March (02 March-05 April) footfall on a year-on-year (YoY) comparable basis? The BRC-Sensormatic data shows total UK footfall fell by 5.4% compared to a year ago.
High Street footfall dipped 4% YoY last month but shopping centres suffered the most, dipping 5.8%, while retail park footfall fared slightly better, down just 1.2% in March.
Looking at the regional performances, footfall fell YoY across all nations, down 4.9% in England, 6.6% in Scotland, 8.3% in Wales, and the largest decrease of 9% in Northern Ireland.
Over at MRI Software, it says YoY footfall in March actually rose by 2.6% in all UK retail destinations “which is encouraging given the shift in Easter holiday timings this year”, it noted.
It said strong activity was recorded in high streets (+3.2%), retail parks (+2.6%), and shopping centres (+1.1%). This was mainly driven by the final week of the month where footfall was 7% higher in all UK retail destinations. But it added: “This is in comparison to Easter weekend last year and will be abnormally higher due to retail stores and destinations remaining closed on Easter Sunday”.
It also says weekday and weekend footfall in March rose YoY by 5.5% and 2.4% respectively. Compared to 2019 levels, weekend footfall remains only 5.5% lower and the gap has narrowed significantly for weekday footfall (-10.8%) indicating that the return to office is becoming more of a normality.
Even the two sets of reports failed to agree on month-on-month (MoM) data.
BRC said March sales were down 0.2% compared to February, also falling on high streets and shopping centres by 0.1% while retail parks dipped 2%.
For MRI Software, “retail footfall remained upbeat in March as overall visitor activity rose by 4.6% from the month before”.
This uplift was predominantly driven by a 7% rise in high streets followed by a 4.3% increase in retail parks with “both trends… influenced by the fourth week of the month which coincided with payday and Mother’s Day”. Shopping centre activity, however, fell marginally by -0.1% from the month prior.
Helen Dickinson, BRC CEO said of its report: “With Easter falling in April this year, footfall in March could not compare to last year when families were already enjoying their Easter holidays. [But] London saw only a minor dip in footfall compared to other parts of the country.
“Global uncertainties resulting from tariffs and a potential economic slowdown could reduce the appetite for shopping trips in the coming months.”
And Andy Sumpter, retail consultant EMEA for Sensormatic, added: “After a bumpy few months, March made for disappointing footfall. With Easter this year landing in April, some of the downturn in store visits in March could have been from consumers withholding Easter spend. Retailers will now be hoping that strong Easter trading can help balance out a slow start to spring.
“It’s worth noting, however, that there were some brighter moments for shopper counts in March – although, sadly, not enough of them to have had a material impact on the overall figures. Mother’s Day in particular delivered a standout performance, driving a +13.4% uplift in High Street footfall compared to last year.”
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