High street footfall in January bested the busy Christmas shopping month of December, up 0.5 percentage points month-on-month, while the figure also outstripped the three-month rolling average increase of 15.2%.

Total UK footfall – spanning the high street, retail parks and shopping centres – increased by 12.5% in January; this is down 2.6 percentage points compared with December, but still above the three-month rolling average increase of 10.3%.

It leaves total UK footfall down just 6.5% on pre-pandemic levels. Retail park footfall fell by 3.5 percentage points year-on-year in January (down 7.7% versus pre-pandemic levels), while shopping centre footfall increased by 12.4% month-on-month to within just over a quarter (25.2%) of pre-pandemic levels.

England saw the highest increase in footfall in January, up 16.2%, followed by Wales (14.6%), Scotland (12.2%) and Northern Ireland (9.1%). The British Retail Consortium (BRC) Sensormatic IQ data covered the four-week period from 1-28 January.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson OBE said one footfall growth was driving by employees returning to offices and a resurgence in international tourism "compared with last year when some Covid restrictions were in place".

"Growth was most pronounced in high streets and shopping centres as many shoppers sought out a bargain in the January sales," said Dickinson. "Meanwhile, retail parks faltered as the cost of living crisis put many shoppers off buying big-ticket home products often located there."

Agents headed into the new year with confidence and in good spirits according to TTG’s final Travel Agent Tracker survey of 2022, with three-quarters telling TTG they were feeling either very (32%) or quite (44%) optimistic about the coming months.

Moreover, most respondents (88%) said they felt 2022 was a better year than 2021, with in excess of two-thirds (68%) stating they were either very confident (24%) or quite confident (44%) 2023 would be better than 2022.

Just shy of a third of respondents (32%) said enquiries increased ahead of peaks in December, with average enquiry numbers standing at 41 – the highest level since the summer.

Several agents told TTG they had queues out their doors last month during what was the busiest peaks since 2020, one that saw a "90s buzz" return to travel. “It’s been a long time since it’s been this buoyant,” said Miles Morgan Travel founder Miles Morgan.

Barrhead Travel and Hays Travel North West were among agencies to send members of senior or head office staff back to the shop floor to inspire their teams and experience that buzz, with some even getting back behind the sales desks and converting enquiries.

‘Run faster to stand still’

Dickinson added: “Retailers will welcome this recovery, and despite the cost of living squeeze, footfall has continued towards its pre-pandemic levels. The challenge for retailers will be to convert this extra footfall into sales, at a time when many consumers are reining in their discretionary spending."

Andy Sumpter, Sensormatic Solutions retail consultant EMEA, added that while the uptick had defied the threat of disruption from rail strikes, cold weather and brittle consumer confidence, there was still work to do.

"While retailers will take heart from the demand signals that bricks-and-mortar remains shoppers’ channel of choice, footfall levels hover stubbornly just below pre-pandemic levels, even though January saw the highest recovery point in the past year.

"With the economic outlook continuing to put inflationary pressures on consumers’ discretionary spend and, facing inflationary pressures of their own, retailers will once again have to run even faster to stand still. This will put the emphasis squarely on doubling down on operational efficiencies, as well as focusing on core ranging that delivers value to price-sensitive shoppers."