Northern Ireland bucked the wider UK trend in August as retail footfall increased for the second consecutive month, with shopping centres recording particularly strong growth.
Figures from the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium and Sensormatic show shopper numbers increased by 2.8% year-on-year during the four weeks from 2 to 29 August.
The increase accelerated slightly from the 2.6% annual rise recorded in July and came as overall UK footfall fell by 1.7%.
Shopping centres were the strongest-performing location type in Northern Ireland, recording a 6.6% annual increase in visitors, up from 6.2% in July.
BELFAST FOOTFALL RISES
Belfast also recorded an improvement, with footfall rising 1.8% year-on-year compared with growth of 0.8% in July.
Neil Johnston, Director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, says the figures offer some encouragement for retailers facing continued cost pressures.
He says: “Northern Ireland was an exception this month in recording an increase in shopper numbers – up 2.8% on the same month last year – while England, Scotland and Wales were all down.
“Belfast fared reasonably with numbers up by 1.8% compared to last year. The Fleadh clearly brought huge numbers onto the streets and was a real boost to tourism and hospitality however the impact on retailing was more modest.”
Johnston says vibrant city centres increasingly depend on a combination of residents, office workers, entertainment, hospitality and retail rather than shops alone.
SHOPPING CENTRES LEAD
Andy Sumpter, Head of Consulting and Analytics EMEA at Sensormatic, says the performance makes Northern Ireland the strongest of the UK’s four nations for footfall during August.
He says: “Shopping Centres were a particular bright spot, with retailers recording a robust +6.6% increase in visits, demonstrating consumers’ continued appetite for destination-based retail.”
Johnston also renewed calls for the Northern Ireland Executive to reduce business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure operators.
He argues that reducing the burden would help businesses build on the improvement in footfall and support more vibrant town and city centres.
