Poor weather, rail disruptions, and challenging economic conditions failed to deter Scottish consumers as the country's retail destinations recorded a healthy boost in shopper numbers in the final weeks of trading before Christmas.
The gap from pre-pandemic footfall levels narrowed to -14.5% in December from -16.9% in November, driven by an improvement across all destination types. Data out today from retail analysts MRI Software also reveal a "month of two halves" with footfall down in the second and final week of December, but up "significantly" in the two weeks before Christmas Day.
Looking ahead, however, MRI marketing and insights director Jenni Matthews said the usual post-Christmas slump for retail is expected to result in a decline of between 20% and 25% in January, underlining the ongoing challenges facing the sector. Weather warnings and a delayed return to schools is expected to increase the seasonal downturn.
Footfall for the whole of December was up 6.2% from November, predominantly boosted by the fourth week of the month. This final trading week before Christmas Day saw a 12.6% increase across Scotland’s retail destinations.
Shopping centres led the charge with a rise of 16.2% month-on-month, followed by retail parks (up 6.2%) and high streets (1.2% higher). MRI said this was indicative of the diverse offerings of shopping centre destinations, from eating out to a multitude of retail brands, making them a preferred choice for consumers during the festive season.
READ MORE: Record numbers hit the shops as food inflation eases
Compared to 2022, footfall declined by 1.9% across Scotland’s retail destinations. This was largely driven by a 2.5% dip in shopping centre activity, followed by a 2.1% decline in high streets. Retail parks saw a marginal drop of 0.8%.
Looking at the numbers compared to before the Covid pandemic, high streets narrowed their 18% decline in activity in November to 16.5% in December. Shopping centres witnessed an improvement to -21.9% from -26.2%, and retail parks also noticed an improvement to -2.4% from -4.5% in the prior month.
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