Retail footfall in February was the best for nine months, say analysts Springboard – thanks mainly to out of town shopping.

At just 0.5% down on January (which saws a 1.2% fall), it was above the three-month average of -0.8% and best overall footfall performance since last May. While shopping centre and high streets suffered declines of 1.5% and 0.6% respectively, out of town locations fared best of all with a 1% year-on-year increase.

The British Retail Consortium’s director general Helen Dickinson said the February picture was “good news overall”.

“Although it's usually traditional to see us putting our feet up after the Christmas rush and January sales, this doesn't seem to be the case for out of town shopping. We are still flocking for those big ticket items with an increase in footfall by one per cent.” she said.

Diane Wehrle, Retail Insights Director at Springboard, said: “Whilst retail parks continue to be the only retail environment that is consistently recording an increase in customer activity, it is positive that the decline in footfall in both high streets and shopping centres slowed in February.” 

Four regions in England reported positive footfall growth in February – East (3.0%), South East (2.9%), East Midlands (2.0%) and South West (0.9%). West Midlands (-1.5%) and Wales (-2.3%) showed the biggest declines.