Retail footfall in Wales saw a much-needed uplift in December as festive spending saw shoppers return to the high street in the build up to Christmas. According to the Welsh Retail Consortium, December had the second-best monthly performance of 2022 compared with pre-pandemic levels, recording the biggest monthly improvement in store visits of the year.
Latest figures reveal that Welsh footfall decreased by 9.6% in December, compared to a year-on-three-year comparison of December 2019. This was 6.6 percentage points better than November, yet still worse than the UK average decline of 7.3% Yo3Y.
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When compared to the other nations and regions in the UK, Scotland (-9.9%), South East England (-10.7%), East of England (-11.3%), East Midlands (-12.3%) and London (-13.8%) were the areas which saw a greater decline than Wales.
The shallowest decline continues to be Northern Ireland at minus 3% (Yo3Y).
In Wales, shopping centre footfall saw a marginal improvement in December declining by 33.2% (Yo3Y), 0.2 percentage points better than November.
Of the UK cities, footfall in Cardiff decreased by 5.2% (Yo3Y), 8.6 percentage points better than November. This was the Welsh capital’s best result of 2022, ranking 5th of all UK cities behind Belfast, Manchester, Liverpool, and Edinburgh.
When compared to footfall in December 2021, total Welsh footfall saw a significant uplift increasing by 16.6%, Welsh Shopping Centres by 5.3% and footfall in Cardiff by 16.2%. This is in part due to concerns around the Covid omicron variant in December last year.
Head of the WRC Sara Jones said: “Buoyed by festive spending in the build up to Christmas and discounting by retailers in the immediate aftermath, this was a far sprightlier and encouraging end to the year for shopper footfall in Wales. Compared with pre-pandemic times, December saw the second-best monthly performance of 2022 and recorded the biggest monthly improvement in store visits of the year. All retail destinations benefitted with Cardiff turning in by far its best foot-traffic results of last year.
“There was a stark improvement when looking at the comparable period one year before, back in December 2021. However, this was flattered greatly given the weak comparable given fresh concerns back then over the Covid Omicron variant.
“Despite the welcome and marked improvement, store visits in Wales remain almost a tenth below pre-pandemic levels and are weaker than across the UK as a whole. Sustaining the improvement and turning browsing into buying will be tricky given the ongoing cost-of-living crunch and with household disposable incomes set to be challenged further in the months ahead by increases in council tax.”
Retail consultant EMEA for Sensormatic Solutions Andy Sumpter said: “Physical retail rallied in December, with store performance last month posting its best footfall counts compared to pre-pandemic figures all year. Retailers rose above an onslaught of festive disruption, from snow chaos to rail and mail strikes impacting consumers’ shopping journeys both on- and off-line, disrupting pre-Christmas travel to shopping hubs and creating online delivery backlogs and delays. And, once again, it was the in-store teams that kept retailers’ doors open and able to continue to serve their customers and communities.
“Looking ahead to 2023, retailers will be hoping for more stability and support to help them chart a trading course for success in the light of continued economic headwinds, as they adapt their retail offers to the needs of the cost-of-living consumer.”
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