Storm Eunice failed to dampen consumer spirits in February as workers’ steady return to the office set tills ringing across the country. UK footfall led the major European economies last month as the return to the office increased shopper numbers in many towns and city centres.
The promising start to the month was briefly dampened by Storm Eunice, before bouncing back in the final week of February to its highest level since the pandemic began. Overall, the major cities enjoyed the biggest improvements, particularly London, Manchester and Birmingham, following the easing of Covid restrictions in England.
Total UK footfall was down 14.9% in February on two years previously, a 2.2 percentage point improvement from January and better than the three-month average decline of 17.2%, according to British Retail Consortium (BRC)-Sensormatic IQ data. This was ahead of Spain (down 16.4% on February 2020), France (down 20.3%), Italy (down 29.1%) and Germany (down 42.6%).
Footfall on high streets was down 19.4% on two years ago but 4.8 percentage points better than last month’s rate, and…
