Shopper numbers slip slightly in November

Black Friday has failed to boost footfall as total UK footfall decreased by 15.7 per cent in November, when compared to 2019, with a 2.0 percentage point decrease from October.

Black Friday itself saw a decline of 23.4 per cent (Yo2Y), however footfall was still 35.3 per cent higher than the previous weekend (19 Nov 2021), According to BRC-Sensormatic IQ data for the four weeks ending 27 November.

“While footfall over the Black Friday weekend failed to match its 2019 levels, this year saw deals spread over the entire month, allowing customers to bargain hunt over a prolonged period,” Helen Dickinson, chief executive of British Retail Consortium (BRC), said.

“Nevertheless, this month’s footfall was still comparatively strong at the second highest figure for this year, only second to October.”

Footfall on High Streets declined by 19.6 per cent in November (Yo2Y), 1.3 percentage points below last month’s rate. Retail parks saw footfall decrease by 4.1 per cent (Yo2Y), 3.7 percentage points below last month’s while shopping centres have seen the largest decline of 34.8 per cent (Yo2Y), but only 1.2 percentage points below last month’s rate.

Northern Ireland again saw the shallowest footfall decline of all regions at -5.2 per cent, benefitting from the High Street voucher system.

England has seen a decline of -15.7 per cent and Wales of -16.7 per cent. For the fourth consecutive month, Scotland saw the deepest decline at -19.8 per cent.

Andy Sumpter, Retail Consultant EMEA for Sensormatic Solutions, commented: “We saw a slight footfall falter in November, with shopper traffic taking a nominal dip on October’s figures, however, it’s worth remembering that this is only the second time in the whole of 2021 that we’ve seen a monthly slowdown in the High Street’s recovery, as consumer confidence continues to grow and the resurgence in bricks-and-mortar builds back, slowly but steadily.”