Scottish shops see footfall decreasing at faster rate than UK

Footfall dropped by 0.9% in November

The Scottish Retail Consortium's calling the figures "underwhelming"
Author: Kieran BrandPublished 1st Dec 2023

Shops in Scotland have seen "scant sign pre-Christmas trading has taken off" as footfall decreased by 0.9% in November compared with last year, figures show.

The Scottish Retail Consortium said the statistics, which were worse than the UK average fall of 0.7% year-on-year, were "underwhelming".

November is traditionally the second busiest month of the year in retail and the Scottish Retail Consortium issued a plea for the Scottish Government to "blunt any uplift in the business rate" during the Budget.

David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: "Shopper footfall to Scotland's retail destinations slipped back slightly in November compared to the same period last year.

"This was the second successive monthly fall in foot-traffic with scant sign pre-Christmas trading has taken off.

"Visits to stores were down by almost 1%, which will disappoint retailers who were hoping for a lift during what is traditionally the second busiest trading month of the year.

"Footfall in shopping centres returned to growth and Edinburgh outperformed.

“However, overall shopper footfall across Scotland remains a sixth lower than prior to the pandemic.

"These are underwhelming figures, especially for high street retailers operating in more discretionary categories, many of whom will now be hoping for a final flourish to the golden quarter of festive trading to help weather rising costs and to tide them over the traditionally leaner months early in the new year."

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