Footfall plummeted by 84.7% year-on-year across the UK’s shopping locations in April, as the nation stayed indoors under the coronavirus lockdown.
Shopping centre visitor numbers suffered the worst decline, dropping by 87.8% in the four weeks to 2 May, according to the latest BRC-ShopperTrak Footfall Monitor.
High streets reported an 81.8% drop in footfall during the same period, with the pain eased slightly by growing demand for local convenience stores.
Retail parks were the least affected by the lockdown, but nonetheless posted a 62.4% decline in visitors.
The higher proportion of supermarkets and essential stores at retail parks offset the decline, as well as the more open spaces available in these locations, enabling social distancing to be maintained more easily.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of British Retail Consortium, said that lower footfall is likely to continue, and that many retailers will not resume normal trading for some time, even when they are allowed to reopen.
She added: “We will see an acceleration of many trends seen prior to the coronavirus pandemic – lower footfall as many consumers choose to browse digitally, and a corresponding rise in online sales.
“These changes are requiring retailers to adapt quickly so that the industry can meet the needs of modern consumers and deal with the challenges the pandemic is presenting.
“ Ultimately, the very nature of many retail jobs will change, with impressive customer service and the effective use of technology becoming even more vital.”
Cautious consumerism
Ian Muir, general manager for the UK, MEA and India at ShopperTrak, said: “Looking ahead to June and the gradual and measured reopening of shops, retailers will need to navigate a new, and potentially long-lasting, era of cautious consumerism.
“Retailers will now be required to deliver in-store experiences that are both safe and frictionless. Safety will need to be reassuringly visible but executed as seamlessly as possible – a feat that is only achievable through combining engaged store associates and well-applied data.
“Achieving these newly accelerated demands on the store will be key in reassuring shoppers and regaining footfall into the future.”
Muir also pointed to footfall recovery in Germany, which began to reopen stores in mid-April, to provide a sense of what lies ahead for retail patterns in the UK.
German footfall at the beginning of the month stood at -98.3% year-on-year, but improved by 10.7 percentage points to -87.6% by the end of April.
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