Footfall news and archive

UK footfall sees sharp decline in February as wet weather impacts activity

New figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Sensormatic have revealed a sharp decline in UK retail footfall in February. Total visits dropped 4.7 percent year-over-year, a notable deterioration from January’s modest 0.6 percent decline. High streets saw the steepest fall, with footfall down 5.4 percent YoY, compared to a 1.9 percent...

Retail

UK retail footfall rebounds in February, driven by seasonal events

New data from MRI Software shows UK retail footfall rebounded strongly in February, with visits rising month-on-month as shoppers returned after the typical January slowdown. According to the company’s latest analysis, footfall across all UK retail destinations increased 9.4 percent compared with January 2026. The rise marks a clear recovery...

Retail

BRC: Retailers adopt cautious optimism as footfall remains flattish in January

New figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Sensormatic have revealed a slight drop in footfall for the UK in January. Despite a decrease of 0.6 percent year-over-year, performance was more promising than the disappointing Christmas period, during which footfall fell 2.9 percent. High streets experienced the sharpest drop at 1.9...

Retail

January retail footfall shows seasonal slowdown, stable YoY

New data from MRI Software has pointed to a familiar post-festive slowdown in UK retail footfall in January, with visits falling sharply month on month but remaining relatively steady compared to last year. According to the platform, footfall across all UK retail destinations declined 20.8 percent month on month in January, following a strong...

Retail

BRC: December footfall falters despite uplift in latter half

New figures from BRC-Sensormatic have revealed a notable decline in footfall for the month of December, as shoppers held off for post-Christmas sales. According to the data, total UK footfall fell 2.9 percent year-on-year (YoY), while for the three months to December, footfall decreased 2.2 percent. Compared to November, footfall was down 0.8...

Retail

UK welcomes unexpected footfall uptick in December, Boxing Day leads the way

New figures by MRI Software have shown an unexpected uptick in footfall for December, with Boxing Day driving the way. According to the platform, the month’s footfall saw the “biggest annual boost since 2011”, with visits up 1.3 percent year-on-year. MRI said activity was driven by a surge in evening and night-time activity (+5.3 percent after...

Retail

Festive footfall sees YoY uptick as activity intensifies ahead of Christmas

New figures by MRI Software have shown a year-on-year increase in footfall across all UK retail destinations as shopping activity intensified ahead of a later Christmas Day. According to the platform, footfall rose 3.9 percent compared to the same week last year, despite declining 12.8 percent week-on-week, reflecting the disruption of Christmas...

Retail

Footfall rises ahead of festive period despite adverse weather conditions

New figures by MRI Software have shown an increase in footfall over the past week, despite adverse weather conditions temporarily discouraging travel. According to the data platform, for the period December 7 to 13, footfall across all UK retail destinations rose 3.1 percent compared to the week prior, largely driven by a 5 percent uptick in...

Retail

UK footfall rises into Black Friday, yet caution persists

UK retail destinations saw their second week of momentum heading into Black Friday, with footfall rising 6.7 percent week-on-week, according to MRI Software. High streets led the way with an 8.2 percent uplift, followed by shopping centres (+6 percent) and retail parks (+4.1 percent), reflecting renewed consumer demand for in-person shopping...

Retail

Footfall drops in October marking sixth consecutive months of decline

New figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) have shown what is now the sixth consecutive month of decreasing footfall this year as consumer confidence remains weak across the UK. According to BRC-Sensormatic, total UK footfall fell 0.7 percent in October compared to the year prior. This came above the 1.8 percent decrease reported in...

Retail

Storm Benjamin impacts weekly footfall, high streets see sharp downturn

Overall footfall across UK retail destinations fell 1.9 percent from October 19 to 25 compared to the week prior after Storm Benjamin impacted activity throughout most of the country. According to new figures by MRI Software, high streets were hit hardest, with footfall dropping sharply by 6.1 percent. The most significant declines were seen on...

Retail

Retail reality check: Footfall dips in September for first time since 2019

Retail footfall declined in September for the first time since 2019, reflecting a return to pre-pandemic trends driven by seasonality, weather and consumer sentiment. This is according to data collected by MRI Software, which found footfall slipped 0.2 percent year-on-year for the five week period to October 4. High streets were the hardest hit,...