Retail Recovery Index – November
Ipsos' Retail Recovery Index for Q3 2021 shows footfall is starting to bounce back.
As we head into the ‘golden quarter’, retailers across the UK are starting to see footfall bounce back following a challenging start to 2021.
The Retail Recovery Index data is constructed from the number of shoppers entering stores using a nationally representative sample of retail outlets across the UK, excluding the grocery, convenience and minor retail service sectors.
The latest figures show Yorkshire and the Humber have seen the biggest bounce back, with Harrogate, Harrow and Coventry being the best performing cities in the UK.
Ipsos’s Retail Recovery Index found that national footfall was down by -25.0% on its 2019 level. Wales and London continue to see the slowest bounce-back, with shopper numbers -31.6% and -31.3% lower respectively than in 2019.
| Regional Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Yorks & Humbs | -18.8% |
| South West | -21.3% |
| Eastern | -21.9% |
| North West | -22.3% |
| West Midlands | -23.6% |
| South East | -23.9% |
| North East | -24.6% |
| East Midlands | -27.9% |
| Scotland & N. Ireland | -28.4% |
| London | -31.3% |
| Wales | -31.6% |
Despite Yorkshire and Humber leading the way in its footfall recovery, the top ten cities seeing the best bounce-back were more evenly spread across the north and south of England.
Central London locations have not experienced similar comparisons, with the City of London down -50.7% and West End down by -46.8%.
Harrogate saw the most impressive retail bounce back, with footfall now only -9.8% lower than the same period in 2019.
| Top 10 bounce-back cities | |
|---|---|
| Harrogate | -9.8% |
| Harrow | -12.8% |
| Coventry | -13.7% |
| Newcastle-upon-Tyne | -14.6% |
| Leeds | -14.7% |
| Salisbury | -15.5% |
| Brent Cross | -15.8% |
| Stoke-on-Trent | -15.9% |
| Shrewsbury | -16.4% |
| Watford | -17.2% |
Explaining the findings, Oliver Hiller, senior retail analyst at Ipsos, said:
Our Retail Recovery Index paints a positive picture for most locations as we head towards the golden quarter. After a challenging period of lockdown, it’s encouraging to see that shoppers are keen to return to the high streets. Yorkshire and Humber, the South West and Eastern regions have seen the strongest recovery, with footfall in Harrogate less than 10% off its 2019 level.
Central London destinations do continue to see footfall lag behind the rest of the country, however since workers have returned to offices there has been an improvement. Over the festive period we expect to see this situation improve with leisure and hospitality venues opening with no COVID-19 restrictions for the first time since 2019.
The continued success of smaller cities and large towns suggests that many shoppers continued to visit stores close to their homes, rather than travelling to visit major cities such as London, Birmingham and Manchester.
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