Storms wash away gains in February as footfall declines across the board
Three named storms brought record rainfall to the UK during February, driving footfall down and wiping out some of the modest gains made at the start of the year.
Customer traffic to high streets suffered the most due to the wet weather, with footfall slumping 7.8% during the month according to data from Springboard.
Both retail parks and shopping centres fared better due to their proximity to parking and covered environments, though footfall still declined 1.1% and 2.5% respectively. Shopping centre footfall had edged up in January, raising hopes of a revival in customers visiting retail destinations.
However, Springboard said average footfall decline for the first two months of 2020 was 1.1% compared to 2.5% in 2019, which showed that centres “are on the cusp of achieving some stability in terms of footfall”.
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