NI Shopper Numbers Increase

Confidence appears to be returning to Northern Ireland high streets, as the decline in recorded footfall continues to slow.

Footfall in Northern Ireland fell by 2.0% in January 2014, indicating a marked improvement on the 8.7% fall recorded in December.

The vacancy rate in Northern Ireland in January was 18.0%, marginally improved from the previous quarter.

The figures have been released by the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium (NICR).

Director Aodhán Connolly said: "We are starting to see things moving in the right direction in Northern Ireland. The decline in the numbers of shoppers we are seeing has slowed, and while we've still seen two per cent less people visiting shops than in January 2013, that's a significant improvement over the numbers we saw in the final quarter of last year."

Footfall for the whole of the UK in January was 1.6% higher than a year ago, up on a 2.4% fall in December.

Footfall in out-of-town locations across Great Britain and Northern Ireland improved to a 5.7% increase, with shopping centres reporting a rise of 2.4%.

The national town centre vacancy rate in the UK was 11.0% in January 2014, indicating a fall from October's rate of 11.1%.

"This good news for retailers helps to explain the rise in sales we have been seeing and shows that retailers have done well in pitching their sales and new ranges in January to tempt shoppers in," Mr Connolly continued.

"Despite the wet and windy weather over the month, people have still been visiting our shops.

"Empty shops hurt local economies, so there is also good news in the small drop in the number of vacant units across Northern Ireland to 18 per cent. While that number remains high, it is an improvement. To make a larger dent in this problem, it is important for everyone to work together to reduce the costs of operating properties."

Diane Wehrle, Retail Insights Director at Springboard, said: "With a drop in footfall of 2.0 per cent, Northern Ireland's retail locations were less resilient in January than the UK as a whole, which recorded an increase of 1.6 per cent.

"However, in line with the UK, it is retail parks that led the way with an increase in footfall of 3.7 per cent reflecting the increased demand for furniture which underpinned January's positive sales performance.

"Whilst the vacancy rate in Northern Ireland remains the highest of any part of the UK, the drop from 18.4 per cent to 18.0 per cent suggests a degree of optimism about future trading conditions."

(IT/JP)