FEATURE: RETAIL REPORT 2021
2021 THE
YEAR THAT WAS
REPORT
Lockdown three shaped retail footfall in 2021 with a -31.1% drop vs 2019. Retail experts Springboard’s annual retail review for 2021 examines retail performance, footfall trends, in store and online sales, and consumer confidence from January to December 2021.
I t was the three
month lockdown at the start of 2021 that had a severe impact on the retail sector and its
recovery from 2020. Springboard has examined trends over two key periods: Lockdown (January to March 2021) and post Lockdown (April to December 2021). Footfall across all UK retail destinations was –31.1% lower than in 2019, up from -39.1% in 2020, with retail parks continuing to display a notable resilience than either high streets or shopping centres in retaining footfall.
The impact of lockdown three and the pandemic waves – Delta and Omicron Springboard has identified that Lockdown three (6 January-12 April) had a dramatic effect on footfall across all destination types overall. The clear winners for footfall over the period were retail parks with footfall dropping -33.9% below the 2019 level compared to -69.4% in high streets and -71% in shopping centres. The attractiveness of retail parks to consumers became even more evident following the reopening of
20 DIY WEEK FEBRUARY 2022
retail in April; over the nine month period to December, footfall in retail parks was just -4.4% below 2019 versus -25.8% in high streets and -26.9% in shopping centres. Whilst footfall recovered a little after the lockdown was lifted, later in the year footfall in all three destination types was impacted by the increase in infections from both the Delta and the Omicron variants. In July, at the peak of Delta infections, the gap from 2019 widened to -30.5% in high streets (from -27.2% in June) and to -30.2% in shopping centres (from -29.1% in June). The Omicron variant – which led to the government implementing Plan B guidance in December with advice to work from home if possible - had an even more significant impact on footfall, with the gap from 2019 widening in high streets to -22.2% (from -15.8% in November) and in shopping centres to -24.1% (from -22% in November).
Retail parks reign In 2021, retail parks remained the most resilient destination type; footfall in high streets and shopping centres was -36.7% and -37.9% lower than 2019 respectively, compared to retail parks where the drop from 2019
was less than a third of this at -11.8%. Whilst during 2021 there remained a significant gap in footfall from 2019 (particularly in high streets and shopping centres) activity had strengthened from 2020 by +54.1% in high streets, by +53% in shopping centres and by +28.7% in retail parks. This is mostly a result of retail parks enabling easier social distancing as they are easy to access by car, so rely little on public transport, car parking is free, plentiful and outdoors and stores are large. They also benefit from the fact that the majority have the advantage of food stores being located there.
Town centres and the growth of localism In 2021, working from home for at least part of the week, became firmly established and cemented the growth of localism, a trend identified in 2020. Springboard’s UK Consumer Survey identified that 57% of consumers worked at least part of the week at home in 2021, and that 24% of these consumers visited retail destinations less frequently. Inevitably this led to a proportionately greater reduction in footfall in large city centres
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than in more local high streets, as consumers were able to visit these easily from home during the working week. The most extreme example of the increase in localism is the comparison of footfall performance in Central London vs Outer London; footfall in Outer London in 2021 was -27.3% lower than 2019 compared with -52% in Central London.
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