Worrying retail footfall figures in Wales have prompted further calls for the Welsh Government to prioritise the sector in the upcoming Welsh budget.
According to the Welsh Retail Consortium, retail footfall failed to pick up in November following a huge drop in numbers on previous months.
Figures from last month show that Welsh footfall decreased by 16.2% in November, compared to a year-on-three-year comparison of November 2019. This was 0.1 percentage points worse than October and worse than the UK average decline of 13.3% Yo3Y.
Read more: Welsh Government needs to match England on business rates says business leaders
The latest figures paint a worrying picture for the Welsh retail sector in the run up to Christmas - the busiest and most important trading season of the year for retailers.
Out of the nations and regions in the UK, the decline was only greater in the East of England (at -17.3%), East Midlands (at -18.5%) and the North East of England (at -18.8%).
The shallowest decline on three years pre-pandemic was Northern Ireland at minus 7%.
TOTAL FOOTFALL BY NATION AND REGION (% CHANGE ON 2019)
GROWTH RANK |
NATION AND REGION |
% GROWTH Yo3Y |
1 |
Northern Ireland |
-7.0% |
2 |
North West England |
-11.7% |
3 |
Yorkshire and the Humber |
-13.2% |
4 |
Scotland |
-15.0% |
5 |
West Midlands |
-15.3% |
6 |
England |
-15.4% |
7 |
South West England |
-15.7% |
8 |
London |
-15.7% |
9 |
South East England |
-16.1% |
10 |
Wales |
-16.2% |
11 |
East of England |
-17.3% |
12 |
East Midlands |
-18.5% |
13 |
North East England |
-18.8% |
In Wales, shopping centre footfall for November remained unchanged from October's figures at 33% (Yo3Y).
Of the UK cities, footfall in Cardiff decreased by 13.8% (Yo3Y) - 7.5 percentage points better than October.
TOTAL FOOTFALL BY CITY (% CHANGE ON 2019)
GROWTH RANK |
CITY |
% GROWTH Yo3Y |
1 |
Belfast |
5.7% |
2 |
Manchester |
-7.6% |
3 |
Liverpool |
-8.5% |
4 |
Edinburgh |
-9.1% |
5 |
Glasgow |
-12.7% |
6 |
London |
-13.8% |
7 |
Cardiff |
-13.8% |
8 |
Nottingham |
-15.8% |
9 |
Leeds |
-16.3% |
10 |
Bristol |
-18.1% |
11 |
Birmingham |
-19.4% |
On year-on-year footfall changes, total Welsh footfall increased by 6.1%, Welsh shopping centres by 2.4%, while footfall in Cardiff increased by 2.5%.
Although retail remains below pre-pandemic levels, these figures are positive as footfall continued to improve over the past year.
Head of the WRC Sara Jones said: "Shopper footfall to Welsh retail destinations failed to pick up in November following the massive drop in numbers seen in the previous month. With scant sign that pre-Christmas trading is booming this is a nervous time for our retailers in the run up to Christmas, with visits to stores down over 16 percent down on pre-pandemic trading.
She added: "This will disappoint retailers who were hoping for a lift during what is traditionally the second busiest trading month of the year. A good Christmas for retailers helps to weather ever increasing costs and tide them over the traditionally leaner months early in the new year.
Ms Jones is one of the 15 business leaders who have called on the Welsh Government to follow England and freeze business rates at a minimum for the 2023-24 financial year.
WRC along with CBI Wales, FSB Wales, the Wales Tourism Alliance and many others have written to Finance Minister Rebecca Evans, urging her not to increase the multiplier rate on business rates and follow next year’s freeze applied to England announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in the recent Autumn Statement.
They say that the business rate multiplier in Wales is at a 23-year high and greater than in England. The Welsh Government will confirm its business rate and relief threshold regime for 2023-24 when it publishes its budget on December 13th.
Ms Jones said the latest retail footfall figures reinforces the need for government to prioritise supporting the industry in the upcoming Welsh Budget by committing to freeze business rates for next year, while ruling out regulatory policies which would add cost or curtail investment in the industry.
"We are also seeking creative and innovative thinking from the forthcoming retail delivery plan, which will provide the Welsh Government with the opportunity to get behind retail and ensure it remains a key contributor to our local economies," she added.
Retail consultant EMEA for Sensormatic Solutions Andy Sumpter said: "As retailers readied themselves for the start of peak trading ‘proper’, November brought a slew of disruption and opportunity, almost in equal measure. While train strikes did spell disruption to many, concerns that the untested format of a ‘Christmas World Cup’ could take the shine off retailers’ Black Friday efforts proved unfounded, with the results in-store bettering the results on the field for England and Wales.
"With footfall on Black Friday surpassing 2021 levels, retailers will be hoping this signposts a resilience in consumer demand, even in the context of the rising cost-of-living, as they head into the critical December Christmas trading period.”
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