Springboard records 2.9 per cent drop in pedestrian traffic
It may well be argued that the drop in results for last week of -2.9 per cent against last year is a result of the snow in many parts of the country, compounded by the buoyant comparative result of an annual drop of just -0.7 per cent in 2017. However, with the drop comprehensive across the country with few incidents of growth, it is just as likely to be a symptom of the part of January where the Sales have lost their potency and post-Christmas finances are stretched to capacity.
Both the high street and shopping centres suffered last week with annual declines of -3.3 per cent and -4.6 per cent respectively, with drops reflected across the country. However, the differentiation comes from the 2017 results, when high streets saw an increase of +0.5 per cent but shopping centres recorded a decline of -2.9 per cent. Retail parks in comparison subverted the trend, converting a decline of -1.0 per cent in 2017 to an increase of +0.4 per cent this year following growth in 4 of the 9 regions.
The week on week comparison though is positive overall, demonstrating the vagaries of just looking at annual change, as last week footfall increased upon what was a good week (in week 2 2018) in terms of both annual and weekly change. This however, is polarised between high streets and retail property (both retail parks and shopping centres) with the former bringing growth of +1.8 per cent to counteract the drops of -1.0 per cent and -1.4 per cent in the managed property locations.
