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The number of people visiting stores fell for the second year in a row, according to a leading data monitoring body, after the year ended with a “dismal December” for retail.
Footfall fell by 2.2% in 2024, having also declined in 2023, according to analysis of Sensormatic data by the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
Experts say the situation is due to a combination of pressures from the cost of living, the rise of online shopping, low consumer confidence and poor weather conditions.
Tom Rowley, owner of Backstory Bookshop in south London, said he was trying to beat the crisis by offering shoppers a drink as part of their shopping “experience”.
“People come here, pick up a whole pile of books, but once they’ve done their Christmas shopping we can reward them with a big glass of wine,” he told the BBC.
“Unfortunately, this is not possible through online shopping.”
Tom Rowley said his south London bookstore had an ‘exceptional Christmas’
Tom isn’t the only store owner who has to get creative to encourage customers.
Leanne Fridd, owner of Bookbugs and Dragon Tales in Norwich, told BBC Radio 5Live’s Wake Up to Money that her bookstore had tried “a Santa grotto, authors and all sorts of other things to try and ‘attract people’.
However, despite her best efforts, she said “overall spending was down this year,” even though attendance was “comparable” to last year.
“We really feel it in terms of results,” she added.
“Dinosaur Day” to attract buyers
Jenny Fazackerly
For Jenny Fazackerley, owner of Jenny Stitches in Barrow, attracting shoppers with events is something that happens all year round.
She and other local businesses in the city’s Business Improvement District (BID) pooled funds to host events “every school holiday and every major event” in an effort to improve attendance.
The BID hosted a soap box competition, a fall festival and a “dinosaur day,” where actors dress up as dinosaurs and walk around town to entertain children.
The town was also the final destination of a bike ride in honor of Hairy Biker and local Dave Myers, who died in February last year.
The event attracted thousands of people to Barrow and a second ‘Dave Day’ bike ride is planned again this year.
Jenny said attendance has been good in 2024 thanks to all these events, but she describes it as an “ongoing challenge” for the area.
“A disappointing year”
Although some businesses and cities are doing better than others, the national picture is less rosy.
Figures for the final three months of 2024, which is typically the time of year when shoppers spend the most, were also down 2.5% compared to the same period last year.
“A gloomy December, marked by fewer shoppers in all locations, brought to an end a disappointing year for UK retail footfall,” said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of BRC.
The BRC has urged the government to reduce business tax rates, a tax on commercial buildings, to help retailers invest.
Retail experts attributed the decline to a combination of cost of living pressures, the continued rise in online shopping and low consumer confidence.
Next week, major retailers will reveal how they fared over the Christmas period, with Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer and Next all due to report after Lidl released its results on Thursday.
“People are just a lot more careful with their spending,” said Catherine Shuttleworth, managing director of Savvy Marketing.
She blamed the lack of consumer confidence on the government “bashing the economy”. She also criticized his tax decisions, such as increasing employers’ social security contributions.
A Treasury spokesperson told the BBC “a thriving retail sector plays a crucial role in growing the economy and is at the heart of our communities”, adding that it had introduced tax rate relief. business by 40% next year and that it would cut rates “permanently” starting in 2026.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said the situation could improve for the retail sector in the coming year if inflation and interest rates fall while the economy was improving.
“You can build a more optimistic narrative for 2025,” he said.
