Shopper Numbers Continue To Fall

The number of Northern Ireland shoppers in October was 9.8% lower than a year ago, according to the Northern Ireland retail Consortium (NIRC).

The number indicates a a substantially bigger drop than the 3.1% decline in September.

Vacancy rates also rose in October to 18.5%, from 18.0% in July 2013.

In the whole of the UK, footfall in October was 2.9% lower than a year ago, down on the 2.4% fall in September.

On a three-month rolling basis, this is the worst performance since the start of the year.

High streets reported the greatest fall, down 3.6%, followed by shopping centres, unchanged from September's 2.9% decline.

Footfall in out-of-town locations improved slightly to -1.2%.

The east was the only region in the UK to experience positive footfall growth, up 0.8% compared with a year earlier.

The national town centre vacancy rate in the UK was 11.1% in October 2013. This was unchanged from July's rate.

Aodhán Connolly, Director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium said: "Footfall dropping by nearly ten per cent would set alarm bells ringing at any time of year, but it's doubly worrying this close to Christmas. We're comparing against a strong quarter in 2012, but a drop as steep as this really hits home that conditions remain challenging for customers and retailers in Northern Ireland.

"This quarter's higher vacancy rate adds further to the concern: if action isn't taken soon, we'll be risking a return to last year's record high, when one in five shops stood empty in our town centres."

Last year's drop in numbers was blamed by publicans, traders and MLAs largely on the loyalist flag protests that began when Belfast City Council voted last December to restrict the flying of the union flag above City Hall.

Diane Wehrle, Retail Insights Director at Springboard, said: "Footfall trends have now been on an accelerating downward slide for three months from an annual fall of just -0.9 per cent in August, to -2.4 per cent in September and then to -2.9 per cent in October. And, in October, as the weather worsened high streets bore more of the brunt, losing out to shopping centres with footfall dropping annually by -3.6 per cent compared with -2.9 per cent in shopping centres.

"The likelihood of the weather being at least part of the issue is substantiated by the fact that this replicates a similar trend to October last year when high streets recorded a drop in footfall which was 0.5 percentage point greater than in shopping centres. Out-of-town locations have clearly been the most resilient, with an annual drop in footfall of less than half that recorded in shopping centres and a third of the drop in high street footfall – clearly the result of the recorded demand for leisure, household and games products.

"The vacancy rate has not increased over the last three months, despite footfall dropping by an average of -2.1 per cent compared with an average increase of 0.1 per cent in the previous quarter. However, this may be a function of the proximity of the impending Christmas trading period, and an imminent and much hoped for uplift in trading performance that could secure the future for some retailers."

(IT/CD)