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Welsh retail sector boosted with a surge in footfall in January

2025-10-14 05:02:16 By

Welsh retail footfall in January was significantly up on a year earlier in a welcomed boost to the retail sector, although the outlook remains challenging.

New figures from the Welsh Retail Consortium shows that footfall last month was up 8.5% on the previous year. This was the highest of any UK nation, with England up 7.4%, Northern Ireland, 3.5% and Scotland 1%.

For the UK as a whole the rise was 6.6%. Compared to the regions of England, it was only higher than in Wales in the south east of England (9.4%) and the west Midlands (10%). As expected, with the run up to Christmas, footfall in Wales in January was down (2.6%) on December.

Welsh shopping centre footfall was up 8.6% in January, compared to the previous year, while retail park footfall increased 9.8%.

Of the UK core cities, Cardiff had the third highest rise in footfall on a year earlier in January, up 9.1%. It was only higher in Manchester (up 10.3%) and Birmingham (up 14.3%). The lowest rise was Leeds at 1%. Footfall is based on shoppers entering a retail store on the high street, shopping centres and retail parks.

Head of the Welsh Retail Consortium, Sara Jones, said: "After a dismal end to the golden shopping quarter, January saw Welsh footfall outperform other UK regions and nations with a jump in shopper numbers of 11 % compared to the previous month (year-on-year in December was down 2.6%). Cash conscious consumers were undoubtedly keen to make the most of the fantastic offers and discounts available in the January sales, with retailers looking to recoup the losses from the drab December trading period.

“Whilst 2025 has started on a more positive note for the industry in terms of footfall, the fact is retail sales in January remain considerably less than in the golden quarter leading up to Christmas and customers remain cautious dampened by a pessimistic outlook on the economy. Alongside the impact of the UK Government’s recent tax policies on the labour market and payroll costs, it remains a nervous time for the sector which is running on wafer thin margins.

"With additional regulatory cost pressures in the mix, alongside April’s business rates hike, Welsh retailers will be hopeful that January’s uptick in footfall can be sustained in the coming months, helping to shoulder some of the pressure they are under.”

TOTAL FOOTFALL BY NATION AND REGION

GROWTH RANK

NATION AND REGION

Jan-25

Dec-24

West Midlands

10.0%

-1.1%

South East England

9.4%

-1.1%

Wales

8.5%

-2.6%

East of England

8.5%

-3.4%

South West England

7.9%

-4.8%

North West England

7.7%

-1.4%

England

7.4%

-2.1%

North East England

6.8%

-3.3%

London

6.7%

-1.2%

East Midlands

6.4%

-2.7%

Northern Ireland

3.5%

-5.8%

Yorkshire and the Humber

3.3%

-2.9%

Scotland

1.0%

-1.5%

TOTAL FOOTFALL BY CITY

GROWTH RANK

CITY

Jan-25

Dec-24

Birmingham

14.3%

4.8%

Manchester

10.3%

-3.0%

Cardiff

9.1%

-3.5%

London

6.7%

-1.2%

Nottingham

6.7%

-3.3%

Bristol

6.2%

-7.5%

Belfast

4.8%

-7.2%

Liverpool

3.2%

-3.8%

Edinburgh

2.8%

-1.1%

Glasgow

1.9%

0.2%

Leeds

1.0%

-3.0%

Andy Sumpter, retail consultant for Sensormatic Solutions, which carried out the research said: After a dreary December, retailers will welcome January’s footfall jump. The uptick was boosted by a very strong Week 1, helped in part by New Year’s Day falling on a Wednesday, which may have prompted ambient store traffic as consumers bolted on additional days of leave, as well as retailers extending post-Christmas discounting well into January. Not even the significant disruption from Storm Eowyn was enough to dampen overall footfall performance.

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