“The steep decline in Scottish footfall was more marked than in most other parts of the UK” – David Lonsdale, SRC
Retail industry leaders have demanded an “unambiguously pro-business Scottish Budget” next week after a slump in shopper footfall.
New figures released today show that overall footfall fell by 6.8 per cent in the four weeks to November 23, compared with the same period last year. The average UK-wide decline was 4.5 per cent. Industry body the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) noted that the later timing of Black Friday this year meant that it did not fall into the latest figures, but was included in last year’s comparable, exacerbating the year-on-year decline.
David Lonsdale, director of the SRC, said: “Foot-traffic to retail destinations plunged in the final part of November as plummeting temperatures and amber weather alerts saw Scots stay away from the shops. The grim weather and warnings not to travel unsurprisingly exerted a toll on shopper visits, which slumped to their weakest monthly performance by far of 2024.
“The steep decline in Scottish footfall was more marked than in most other parts of the UK. This was an abrupt reversal after three consecutive months of modest but nonetheless improving numbers of store visits and affected all retail destinations, including footfall to stores in retail parks and shopping centres.”
The November data revealed that shopping centre footfall decreased by 7.3 per cent year on year in Scotland, compared with a 1.7 per cent gain in October. Retail park footfall was down 3.9 per cent in November while there was a geographic split in the overall footfall numbers with Edinburgh registering an average fall of 5.6 per cent and Glasgow a 9.4 per cent slide.
Lonsdale described the results as “unnerving” and said there was “scant” evidence that pre-Christmas trading had kicked off in the earlier part of November.
He added: “Many stores rely on a solid festive period to tide them over the leaner winter months that follow. What this does do is reinforce the need for an unambiguously pro-business Scottish Budget next week, one which injects much needed confidence into the economy and which avoids piling extra costs onto retailers still reeling from the Chancellor’s hike to national insurance.”
Andy Sumpter, a retail consultant for Sensormatic Solutions, which helps compile the footfall report, said: “This lacklustre footfall performance will have come as a blow for many retailers, who would have been counting on getting early Christmas trading results under their belts before the start of advent. However, it’s worth noting that these figures do not include Black Friday and the Saturday of the Black Friday weekend – tipped as one of the top busiest days for store shopping during peak trading – which will hopefully jump start seasonal shopping.”
Meanwhile, Scottish Engineering’s latest quarterly snapshot, also published today, paints a “rather bleak picture” as a run of positive optimism evaporated. Overall order intake and exports were found to be in negative territory.
Chief executive Paul Sheerin said: “The key focus now has to be on addressing the causes of that confidence loss and turning these around as quickly as possible.”
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