Yorkshire records UK's worst drop in shopper footfall, new figures reveal

Leeds also had the worst figures of 11 major cities where readings were taken, down 5.6 per cent. In contrast, footfall was up five per cent in Birmingham and 3.9 per cent in Manchester, as well as 1.9 per cent and 1.8 per cent in Edinburgh and London respectively.

It followed a similarly challenging month for the region in January in which a nationwide footfall increase of 6.6 per cent was twice that of the 3.3 per cent seen in Yorkshire.

Nationally in February, retail parks saw a two per cent increase in footfall, with high streets in towns and centres up by 0.1 per cent. Shopping centre footfall was also up by 0.1 per cent.

Footfall increased year-on-year for both Wales, up by 2.7 per cent, and England, up by 0.2 per cent. Northern Ireland saw a year-on-year decrease of 0.1 per cent, while Scotland experienced a decline of 0.3 per cent.

Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said the Government needs to do more to help retailers with major increases in costs announced in the Budget due to come into effect.

“Footfall increased for the second consecutive month, with retail parks continuing to outperform other retail destinations,” she said.

"The variety of larger retail outlets and the option of free parking enticed customers to visit retail parks over their local high street or shopping centre which saw only marginal improvements.

"Strong investment in retail parks and fewer empty stores has led to consistent positive shopper traffic over the past year.

“Retailers are always looking for ways to invest in shopping destinations and the communities they serve. Unfortunately, the £7 billion worth of costs facing the industry from the Budget will hinder retailers’ ability to do this.

"At a time when many high streets are in desperate need of revitilisation, the government must do more to support the retail industry’s ability to invest.

"Ensuring no shop pays more as a result of business rates reform and delaying the new packaging levy would allow for more investment in stores and jobs, giving footfall a better chance of recovery in 2025.”

Andy Sumpter, Retail Consultant EMEA for Sensormatic, said: “After January’s jump-start, retail footfall in February stalled, with retailers seeing only the slimmest improvements compared to 2024 last month.

"While the good news is that shopper counts remained steady, many would have been hoping for a more substantial leap building off a strong start to the year.

"Retail parks, consistently one of the top performers in 2024, once again outstripped other retail destinations in February, as the convenience and choice built into their retail offerings again proved popular with customers.

"With Easter falling late and well into April this year, this will, undoubtedly, put added pressure on retailers as we head into March.

"To plug the gap, retailers have an opportunity to create compelling reasons to visit and enhance their offerings with greater convenience and choice, which have been the standout strengths of retail park performance.”