Bargain-hunting shoppers give retailers welcome boost as sales surge in January

Footfall was up year-on-year successful each 4 UK nations with shoppers keen to drawback up discounts successful the caller twelvemonth sales

January saw a surge successful shoppers looking for deals, providing a much-needed boost for retailers aft a lacklustre Christmas season.

Total UK footfall roseate by 6.6% twelvemonth connected twelvemonth past month, according to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-Sensormatic,

This marks a important rebound from December, erstwhile determination was a 2.2% driblet successful shopper numbers compared to the erstwhile Christmas. High streets experienced a 4.5% summation successful footfall, portion retail parks and buying centres enjoyed rises of 7.9% and 7.4%, respectively.

All 4 UK nations reported year-on-year increases successful footfall: Wales led with an 8.5% rise, followed by England astatine 7.4%, Northern Ireland astatine 3.5%, and Scotland with a 1% improvement. The archetypal week of January saw a peculiarly crisp spike successful store visits arsenic consumers flocked to the sales, particularly benefiting buying centres.

Despite snowy conditions and disruptions from Storm Eowyn, footfall remained robust crossed large UK cities passim the month. BRC main enforcement Helen Dickinson commented connected the affirmative trend: "Improved shopper postulation is invited quality for precocious streets pursuing a peculiarly hard aureate 4th to extremity 2024, and debased user sentiment to commencement the year.

"Retailers privation to put much successful stores and unit to heighten the buying acquisition for customers and assistance to turn the economy, but the swathe of further costs from April volition bounds concern and pb to occupation losses and higher prices astatine the tills."

Andy Sumpter of Sensormatic remarked optimistically astir the summation successful footfall: "After a dreary December, retailers volition invited January’s footfall jump." He added a cautious note, saying: "While welcome, aft months of erratic and constrained footfall, the jury’s retired arsenic to whether January’s store show signals the commencement of a sustained precocious thoroughfare revival oregon if it volition beryllium a flash successful the cookware travel February.

Mr Sumpter besides highlighted the industry's challenges ahead: "And, adjacent if shopper postulation betterment has yet turned a corner, the situation for retailers volition beryllium solving the adjacent conundrum; however they equilibrium enhanced footfall – which requires optimised store staffing to person into income – and the important rises to labour costs borne retired of the Budget connected the 1 hand, with user appetite for discounts – a semipermanent margin-eroder – connected the other, which volition not beryllium an casual ellipse to square."