Shopper numbers across Britain fell 2.6 per cent over the December 18 to 19 weekend compared to the previous weekend when the highly contagious Omicron variant of coronavirus kept people away, Springboard said on Monday. It said shopper numbers fell 8.5 per cent in central London and 6.4 per cent in cities outside the capital.
Springboard said that the result was better in smaller market towns, shopping centres and retail parks, with footfall up 3.4 per cent, 0.5 per cent and 4.7 per cent respectively.
Britain expressed concern about the Omicron variant on 25 November. Two weeks later, Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed tougher COVID 19 restrictions in England, ordering people to work from home, wear masks in public places, and use certificates of vaccination or a negative COVID 19 test to slow the spread.
Springboard said total shopper numbers increased by 5.5 per cent over the week to December 18, which is one of the biggest shopping weeks of the year.
The gap between footfall from the 2019 level was 19.1 per cent last week, but footfall was 22.5 per cent higher than 2020 when many shops were closed during a general lock down.
The rising nervousness of consumers resulted in a decline in footfall, and by Friday the increase in footfall was around a quarter of that on Wednesday, said Diane Wehrle, Springboard's insights director.
This provided a forewarning for subdued performance of bricks and mortar stores and destinations over the weekend, which was regarded as the peak shopping weekend of the year. The figures released on Friday showed British retail sales rose faster than expected last month, helped by Black Friday discounts, early Christmas shopping and no lock-down restrictions that closed many shops last year.
Omicron has raised concerns of a muted end to the year.
Consumer electricals retailer Currys said the market had softened last week, and online fashion retailer Boohoo warned about annual profit.