The number of shoppers in UK shopping centres on Black Friday and Cyber Monday were down compared to last year.
Black Friday footfall in malls was down 4%, according to the British Council of Shopping Centres, while numbers dropped by 5.8% on Cyber Monday.
However, out-of-town retail park footfall rose by 4.8% on Cyber Monday and 18.2% on the Saturday following Black Friday.
Ed Cooke, director of policy and public affairs at the BCSC, said: “This is all further evidence of the evolving nature of retail toward places that provide an increased mix of retail, leisure, food and beverage, along with services like click and collect, which encourage shoppers to pick up goods in store.
“Evidence suggests that the most successful retailers continue to adopt an omnichannel approach, with complementary physical bricks-and-mortar shops and online stores combining to enhance customers’ experiences.”
The declines came after a huge spike in footfall on Black Friday 2014 – the first big promotional event – which resulted in a 10% increase in footfall on 2013, the first year Black Friday was fully adopted in the UK.
The marginal fall this year came after some retailers chose not to participate in the discounting event or limited their participation.
Cooke said: “Despite the widely reported growth in online retail over the Black Friday period, the data suggests that a high number of shoppers still want to make purchases in person, or use stores to pick up goods they have ordered online, especially in the run up to the busy festive season.”
