The number of people going to shops has fallen for the second year in a row, according to a leading data monitor, after the year ended on a “drab December” for retail. Footfall dropped 2.2% in 2024, having also fallen in 2023, the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) analysis of Sensormatic’s data found. Experts said a combination of cost of living pressures, the rise of online shopping, low consumer confidence, and bad weather were to blame. Tom Rowley, owner of Backstory Bookshop in south London, said he had been trying to beat the slump by offering shoppers a drink as part of their shopping “experience”. Leanne Fridd, owner of Bookbugs and Dragon Tales in Norwich, told BBC Radio 5Live’s Wake Up to Money that her bookshop had tried “a Santa’s grotto, and authors, and all sorts of other things to try and entice people in”. Despite her best efforts, she said “overall spend was down this year” even though footfall was “on par” with last year. For Jenny Fazackerley, owner of Jenny Stitches in Barrow, drawing shoppers in with events is something that happens all year around. She and the other local firms in the town’s business improvement district have pooled money to put on events “at every school holiday and at every major event” to improve footfall. The figures for the final three months of 2024, which is usually the time of year when shoppers spend most, were also down on the same period last year by 2.5%. The BRC has urged the government to reduce business rates, a tax on commercial buildings, to help retailers invest.
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