Inflation Looks To Halt Currently-Rising NI Retail Footfall

Following on from a tumultuous couple of years which saw the economy as a whole disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, shops were beginning to see a rise in customer numbers walking through the door.

According to NIRC-Sensormatic IQ data, footfall has slowly been on the up since shops reopened after temporary closures during COVID-19, despite still remaining below levels reported pre-pandemic in 2019.

Footfall in Northern Ireland decreased by 11.5% in August from the stats recorded in 2019, but had an increase of 0.8% on the numbers for July 2022.

As the number of customers in store slowly rises, so does inflation, with a national cost of living crisis currently upon us.

Inflation is expected to significantly alter the way people shop, with less disposable income meaning less is spent on the high street and the rising numbers we see at the moment may drop once again.

David Lonsdale, Head of Devolved Nations at the British Retail Consortium and Northern Ireland Retail Consortium spokesman, said: “Despite the overall improvement, visits to stores remain well down on pre-pandemic levels.”

“That’s worrying given inflationary headwinds and the likely impact on consumer sentiment and spending power, more so in the lead up to what is traditionally the crucial golden trading quarter for the industry in the final months of the year.”

With Christmas just around the corner and households struggling to make ends meet, the increased cost of essentials such as bills and groceries sparks concerns that what is normally the most favoured season for shopping will soon be catastrophic to the retail sector.

David explained how action needs to be taken as soon as possible to prevent a collapse of the economy, urging new Prime Minister Liz Truss to put a plan in place.

He said: “Early action is needed to protect living standards and assist retailers to keep down shop prices. After all, much of our wider economy is ultimately dependent on what happens to consumer spending.”

Belfast, Northern Ireland’s main hub for shopping, is currently reporting a decrease of 13.1% in footfall across all retail outlets in the city centre since this period three years ago, sitting 1.6% worse off than the national average for NI.

Northern Ireland as a whole has suffered lightly compared to other regions within the United Kingdom, sitting middle of the table for footfall decline since 2019.

The nation hit hardest by post-pandemic footfall, Scotland, reported a huge 14.8% decrease in the number of customers shopping in-store compared to August 2019, more than 3% worse than NI.

Best of the bunch East Midlands is on par with South West England despite still publicising a loss of 8.7% of footfall, highlighting the struggles every highstreet in the UK is currently facing.

Amongst fears this number will decrease further now that the cost of living is on the rise instead, it’s worrying that even those at the top of the rank are in minus percentages, with a long way to go before reaching the same numbers as pre-pandemic times.

Andy Sumpter, Retail Consultant EMEA for Sensormatic Solutions, said: “Whilst the outlook for August remained cheery, retailers will be looking ahead to the Autumn – and retail’s Golden Quarter of Christmas trading – with an air of caution as the cost-of-living crisis continues to play out, and they await to see what packages of support will be offered to consumers the ease the burden on household budgets.”

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