Scottish footfall increased by 12.2% in January year-on-year, 15.6 percentage points worse than December and marginally worse than the UK average decrease of 12.5%.
The latest Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and Sensormatic IQ data showed that shopping centre footfall increased by 36.4% in January - an 8.5% decrease from December.
Footfall in Edinburgh increased by 24.2% year-on-year, while Glasgow increased by 16%.
Compared to pre-pandemic 2019 levels, total Scottish footfall decreased by 6.8%, with Scottish shopping centres down by 17.5%, footfall in Edinburgh by 2.9%, and in Glasgow by 2.4%.
SRC director David Lonsdale said: “Visits to Scotland’s retail destinations last month increased by an eighth when compared to the same period at the start of 2022, which is positive news for retailers at the beginning of the new year.
“That said, the comparable month last year was decidedly weak given government instructions then to work from home and socialise less due to the prevalence of Omicron were yet to unwind.“
Andy Sumpter, retail consultant for Sensormatic Solutions, commented: “While retailers will take heart from the demand signals that bricks-and-mortar remains shoppers’ channel of choice, footfall levels hover stubbornly just below pre-pandemic levels, even though January saw the highest recovery point in the past year.
“With the economic outlook continuing to put inflationary pressures on consumers’ discretionary spend and, facing inflationary pressures of their own across their manufacturing, supply chain and labour costs, retailers will once again have to run even faster to stand still.
“This will put the emphasis squarely on doubling down on operational efficiencies, as well as focusing on core ranging that delivers value to price-sensitive shoppers.”
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