Yahoo Finance Storm Eunice fails to deter UK shoppers in February
Storm Eunice did not dampen UK retail footfall as shoppers returned to the high street as coronavirus measures were lifted.
According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), UK retail footfall now leads the top five European markets in footfall recovery.
Total UK footfall in the last week of February reported the highest number of shopper counts seen since pre-COVID levels.
Footfall decreased by 14.9% in February year on two year (Yo2Y), a 2.2 percentage point improvement from January. This is better than the 3-month average decline of 17.2%.
This was ahead of Spain (-16.4%), France (-20.3%), Italy (-29.1%) and Germany (-42.6%) in February Yo2Y.
Read more: Ukraine war to push up global inflation by 3%
"UK footfall led the major European economies in February, as the steady return to the office increased shopper numbers in many towns and city centres," said Helen Dickinson OBE, chief executive of BRC.
"A promising start to the month was briefly dampened by Storm Eunice, before bouncing back in the final week of February, to its highest level since the pandemic began."
This coincided with the easing of pandemic restrictions in England.
Dickinson added that despite the higher footfall, "challenges remain" as consumer confidence has been hit by soaring inflation, while the return of hospitality and tourism could create additional competition.
Footfall on high streets declined by 19.4% in February (Yo2Y), 4.8 percentage points better than last month's rate, and an improvement on the 3-month average decline of 22.4%.
Meanwhile, shopping centre footfall declined by 35.2% (Yo2Y). This was 2.3 percentage points better than last month's rate, and an improvement on the 3-month average decline of 36.8%.
Retail Parks saw footfall decrease by 10.2% (Yo2Y), 2.8 percentage points better than last month's rate, and an improvement on the 3-month average decline of 10.7%.
Regionally, Britain's major cities enjoyed the biggest improvements, especially London, Manchester, and Birmingham.
England saw the shallowest footfall drop of all regions at -14.4%, followed by Northern Ireland at -15.5% and Wales at -17.1%. Scotland saw the steepest decline at -17.5%.
Separate data from the Confederation of British Industry showed UK retail sales were above seasonal norms in February as shoppers returned to high streets as COVID restrictions eased but prices continued to rise rapidly.
It comes after retail sales grew faster than anticipated in January. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggest that inflation has not massively impacted consumer spending yet, with the volume of goods sold online and in-store rising 1.9% and providing a much-needed rebound from the Omicron induced 4% knock in December.
Read more: What Ukraine invasion means for consumer prices in the UK
But, analysts expect consumers to tighten their purse strings in the coming months as inflation is set to peak at 7%, and households face higher energy bills and tax rises in April.
“Retailers will be acutely aware that the cost of living squeeze could see consumers scrutinising their spending more over the coming weeks and months, impacting trade,” said Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG.
“As is the case for consumers, retailers also face inflationary pressures. Businesses have challenging decisions to make about how to absorb those, or how to pass them on without losing custom.”
