Footfall on the UK’s high streets has fallen by three per cent in seven days as local lockdown restrictions dealt a new hammer blow to retailers today.
The annual decline in footfall across the UK reached a staggering 32.9 per cent last week, with the biggest annual fall in Wales at 40.3 per cent in the wake of stringent new lockdown measures.
Northern Ireland has seen a drop of some 40.1 per cent, with a further 38.2 per cent in Scotland, where lockdown measures have been tightened in recent days.
The number of people shopping at UK retail destinations – including high streets, shopping centres and retail parks – dropped by 1.2 per cent last week, according to retail experts Springboard’s latest data.
It was only around a third of the week-on-week decline of 3.1 per cent the week before. But it is not known yet the extent Wales’ firebreak lockdown coupled with half-term school holidays could impact next week’s figures.
Most of last week’s fall was suffered by high streets – as footfall declined by 0.1 per cent in shopping centres and actually rose by 1.3 per cent in retail parks.
The number of people shopping at UK retail destinations – including high streets, shopping centres and retail parks – dropped by 1.2 per cent last week, according to retail experts Springboard’s latest data. Pictured, an almost deserted high street in Cardiff
Warrington high street. Most of last week’s fall was suffered by high streets – as footfall declined by 0.1 per cent in shopping centres and actually rose by 1.3 per cent in retail parks
Diane Wehrle, Insights Director at Springboard, said: ‘The appeal of retail parks to shoppers with their ease of access by car, free parking, open air environments and large stores alongside the presence of a food store in the majority is once again being demonstrated, with increases in footfall from the week before in this destination type across all four UK nations.’
Last week it was revealed footfall in central London has collapsed by 60 per cent compared to 2019, while the figure for regional cities is down by around 50 per cent.
Springboard’s figures show the number of people out shopping in Scotland fell by 2.7 per cent last week alone.
There were 3.8 per cent fewer shoppers out in Wales as it brought in its circuit-breaker lockdown and in Northern Ireland footfall plummeted by triple that – at 12.2 per cent.
In Northern Ireland, as across the UK as a whole, it was in high streets that footfall was most impacted with a decline of 15.5 per cent. This compared to 2.6 per cent in shopping centres and a rise of 1.5 per cent in retail parks.
High street footfall in Northern Ireland was impacted across the entire day, but more severely in the period post 5pm when it dropped by 29.7 per cent versus 15.3 per cent in Wales, 9.9 per cent in Scotland and by an average of 2.1 per cent across England.
In Wales, footfall over the week fell by 3.8 per cent but most of the decline happened on Saturday when the firebreak came into effect.
It caused an immediate week-by-week drop of 66.3 per cent as people were banned from buying non-essential items.
Aisles with products deemed non-essential were covered up by tape in supermarkets across the country over the weekend, as officials ensured independent businesses that had been forced to closed were not unfairly targeted by the two-week firebreak.
It led to anger today when one supermarket closed its tampon and feminine hygiene products aisle because of a break in.
Shocked shoppers thought the items had been deemed non-essential and took to social media to complain.
The Welsh Government insisted: ‘This is wrong – period products are essential.
‘Supermarkets can still sell items that can be sold in pharmacies. Only selling essential items during firebreak is to discourage spending more time than necessary in shops. It should not stop you accessing items that you need.’
The latest figures showed the drop in footfall on an annual basis in Wales moved from an average of 33.3 per cent over the first six days of the week to 76.6 per cent on Saturday, which is the greatest annual drop in footfall in Wales on a single day since June 6.
Ms Wehrle said: ‘The range of additional restrictions that came into effect at the end of last week have not yet had a noticeable impact on footfall in retail destinations generally across the UK.
‘However, with the exception of Wales which entered a fire break for 17 days, retail stores are continuing to trade which together with fact that the restrictions commenced on Saturday – the last day of the week period – mitigated the impact on the week as a whole.’
She said the situation was ‘more nuanced’ across the rest of the UK, adding that there was ‘far greater declines’ in footfall in the devolved nations.
A couple wearing protective face coverings pass a closed shop in Oxford Street in London, on October 17. Last week it was revealed footfall in central London has collapsed by 60 per cent compared to 2019, while the figure for regional cities is down by around 50 per cent
A woman wearing a protective face covering checks her phone as she walks down the centre of Oxford Street in London, on October 17
‘The greatest decline in footfall occurred in Northern Ireland, which was impacted across the day, but particularly post 5pm as hospitality closed their doors on Saturday,’ she said.
‘In Wales footfall plummeted on Saturday, the first day of the closure of non-essential retail stores, resulting in a year on year decline on that one day that was equivalent of the drop in footfall during the lock down.’
Meanwhile, traffic congestion in the capital has plummeted this week following the start of the half-term break.
During the rush-hour peak today, the level was at just 31 per cent, which is down from 46 per cent last week and last year’s average of 52 per cent.
It comes as new research suggested deserted high streets and city centres were hampering Britain’s job recovery.
Shoppers in Oxford Street hours before a firebreak lockdown come into force in Swansea, Wales, on October 23
Urban areas in Scotland and south England are bearing the steepest declines in vacancies, the Centre for Cities found.
The think tank, and jobs site Indeed, found that seven months after the nationwide lockdown was imposed, job vacancies have failed to return to pre-Covid levels in all 63 towns and cities analysed.
Aberdeen recorded the steepest fall with a 75 per cent year-on-year decline, followed by Edinburgh (57 per cent), then Belfast and the West Sussex town of Crawley (both 55 per cent).
London has seen the sixth biggest fall in job postings at 52 per cent, while overall UK vacancies are 46 per cent behind last year’s level, said the report.
The rise in people working from home has dried up demand for local services in big cities, and while no area of the country or sector has escaped the labour market crisis, those where high street footfall returned to normal more quickly, such as Birkenhead, Chatham and Hull, have seen a faster recovery in job vacancies.
This graph shows the congestion levels in London over the last seven days, with it falling from 46 per cent to 31 per cent
This graph shows the number of journeys made per day by Tube (red) and by bus (blue) up to October 17
And this graph shows the number of taps made using contactless cards or Oyster cards on the Tube, with it filtered by station and station type
Andrew Carter, chief executive of Centre for Cities, said: ‘While unemployment continues to rise, the number of jobs available to people who find themselves out of work is far below its level last year in every single large city and town in the UK. This could have potentially catastrophic long-term consequences for people and the economy.
‘The Government has told us to expect a tough winter and while local lockdowns are necessary to protect lives, it is vital that ministers continue to listen and reassess the level of support given to help people and places to cope with the months ahead.
‘The Chancellor made welcome amendments to the Job Support Scheme which should help save jobs, but many places across the country didn’t have enough jobs before the pandemic hit so creating more will be vital to prevent long-term economic damage to their local economies.’
Pawel Adrjan, of Indeed, said restrictions continuing to ‘spring up in parts of the country’ was the reason for a ‘timid recovery’ in job vacancies.
‘With the remote work trend showing no sign of abating, and entire regions being placed under stricter control, service jobs in large towns and cities could become scarcer still and pull the UK into a jobs spiral,’ he said. ‘That could mean a very long winter ahead for the millions of people currently unemployed.’
An HM Treasury spokesperson said: ‘We’ve put in place a comprehensive plan to protect, support and create jobs in every region of the UK, and recently increased the generosity of our winter support schemes, including our expanded Job Support Scheme, which will protect jobs in businesses that are open or closed.
‘We are also providing additional funding for local authorities and devolved administrations to support local businesses.’
Clarks enters talks with landlords over plan to shut 50 stores putting hundreds of jobs at risk as part of new reduced rent deal based on turnover at each branch
by Mark Duell for MailOnline
It has a proud 195-history having been a Quaker enterprise that grew from humble beginnings to become the world’s best-known shoe brand.
But Clarks is now yet another high street chain being hammered by the coronavirus crisis, with fears around 50 of its 345 stores could be shut as it battles to survive.
The footwear retailer based in Street, Somerset, has begun talks with landlords about shop closures and rent reductions with hundreds of jobs said to be at risk.
A man walks past a Clarks shoe shop in West London (file picture). The footwear retailer based in Street, Somerset, has begun talks with landlords about shop closures and rent reductions with hundreds of jobs said to be at risk
Clarks grew from humble beginnings to become the world’s best-known shoe brand. Bosses for Clarks and their advisers are meeting with landlords this week to discuss a possible restructuring that would see it pay a ‘turnover rent’
These would add to more than 210,000 job losses which have already been announced by major British employers since the start of the lockdown in March.
Bosses for Clarks and their advisers are meeting with landlords this week to discuss a possible restructuring that would see it pay a ‘turnover rent’, reported Sky News.
The deal would be a company voluntary arrangement or CVA, which is a form of insolvency mechanism used by retailers and casual dining businesses.
If the move is approved by creditors it would mean Clark can receive more than £100million cash from Hong Kong-based private equity firm LionRock Capital.
That would see the Clark family lose majority ownership of the company for the first time since it was founded by Cyrus and James Clark in 1825.
A Clarks spokesman said: ‘We recently announced Clarks’ long-term ‘Made to Last’ strategy that is designed to ensure that our business has a sustainable and successful future, keeping it in step with changes in how consumers around the world choose and buy their shoes.
‘As part of this strategy, the Clarks board of directors is currently reviewing options to best position our business, our people and the Clarks brand for future long-term growth.’
It comes as data revaeled footfall on the UK’s high streets has fallen by 3 per cent in seven days as local lockdown restrictions dealt a new hammer blow to retailers.
The number of people shopping at UK retail destinations – including high streets, shopping centres and retail parks – dropped by 1.2 per cent last week, according to retail experts Springboard.
It was only around a third of the week-on-week decline of 3.1 per cent the week before. But it is not known yet the extent Wales’ firebreak lockdown coupled with the half-term school holidays could impact next week’s figures.
A Clarks shoe advert from the 1970s. The Somerset-based company has successfully operated since 1825 despite world wars and economic uncertainty
A Clarks Desert Boot advert in the 1980s. More than ten million of the boot were made after Nathan Clark came up with the idea while serving as an officer in the Royal Army Service Corps
Most of last week’s fall was suffered by high streets – as footfall declined by 0.1 per cent in shopping centres and actually rose by 1.3 per cent in retail parks.
In May, Clarks announced 160 redundancies globally, including 108 job losses at its headquarters in Street, Somerset.
The retailer said it expected that roughly 700 employees will leave the business over the 18 months up to winter 2021, after creating 200 new roles.
The company said 170 employees left the business last year as it started its turnaround strategy.
It also said that the business would focus on three specific parts of its brand portfolio – Clarks Originals, Clarks Collection and Cloudsteppers by Clarks.
Meanwhile research today suggested deserted high streets and city centres are hampering Britain’s jobs recovery.
Urban areas in Scotland and south England are bearing the steepest declines in vacancies, the Centre for Cities found.
The think tank, and jobs site Indeed, found that seven months after the nationwide lockdown was imposed, job vacancies have failed to return to pre-Covid levels in all 63 towns and cities analysed.
Aberdeen recorded the steepest fall with a 75 per cent year-on-year decline, followed by Edinburgh (57 per cent), then Belfast and the West Sussex town of Crawley (both 55 per cent).
London has seen the sixth biggest fall in job postings at 52 per cent, while overall UK vacancies are 46 per cent behind last year’s level, said the report.
The rise in people working from home has dried up demand for local services in big cities, it was indicated.
While no area of the country or sector has escaped the labour market crisis, those where high street footfall returned to normal more quickly, such as Birkenhead, Chatham and Hull, have seen a faster recovery in job vacancies, the report said.
How Britain’s Covid-19 outbreak has slowed down: Speed of growth has plunged from doubling every week to rising by just 14% in seven days as Matt Hancock claims ‘problem is still going up’ (and even the crisis in Tier 3 Liverpool is shrinking)
by Connor Boyd, Assistant Health Editor for MailOnline
Britain’s coronavirus outbreak has slowed significantly since the start of the month, suggesting the latest suite of lockdown restrictions are successfully flattening the second curve of the outbreak.
Infections were almost doubling every seven-to-eight days in September, which sparked widespread fears the country had sleep-walked into a second wave following a lull in transmission over summer when the national lockdown was lifted.
On the back of the worrying figures, the Government’s chief scientific and medical officers warned the disease was growing exponentially and predicted a doomsday scenario of 50,000 cases a day by mid-October. Ministers tightened social freedoms nationally – introducing the rule of six and 10pm curfew – and ushered in the controversial three-tier lockdown system which plunged millions into even stricter curbs in Covid-19 hotspot areas.
There has been much debate about whether the new measures have been effective, but analysis of official data by MailOnline shows weekly Covid-19 cases across the entire UK are currently rising by just 14 per cent, with an average 18,465 cases per day. And in Merseyside – the only region which has been in a Tier Three lockdown long enough for the curbs to take effect – infections are already in retreat.
Despite the promising statistics, Health Secretary Matt Hancock today confirmed a Tier Four lockdown was on the cards if the current three-category system fails to push cases downwards. While he acknowledged that the virus had ‘slowed down a bit’, he told BBC Breakfast: ‘The problem is it’s still going up, and while it’s still going up we’ve got to act to get it under control.’ Mr Hancock said he would ‘rule nothing out’ on the prospect of a new fourth bracket of restrictions, which could see restaurants and non-essential shops forced to close.
Public Health England figures show the seven-day rolling average number of daily cases jumped from 3,676 in the week ending September 18 to 6,301 by September 25 (71 per cent). It rose by a similar rate the following week, climbing to 10,470 by September 29. The rolling seven-day average is considered the most accurate way to assess Covid-19 outbreaks because it takes into account day-to-day fluctuations in infections.
But, between October 9 and October 16 – the most recent snapshot – the rolling seven-day average number of cases only crept up by 14 per cent, from 16,196 to 18,465. For comparison, infections grew by 26.6 per cent the week prior. It suggests the rate at which infections are increasing is halving every week.
Meanwhile in the Liverpool city region – which became the first area to go into a Tier Three Lockdown on October 14 – four out of six boroughs have seen infections fall in the last week. And in the two where cases are still climbing, the rate at which they are increasing has began to decelerate.
Analysis of official data by MailOnline shows weekly Covid-19 cases across the entire UK are currently rising by just 14 per cent, with an average 18,465 cases per day. For comparison, infections were almost doubling every seven-to-eight days in September
In the city of Liverpool, average daily infections dropped from 460.3 on October 11 to 387.1 on October 18, the most recent recording period
In Knowsley, daily infections have fell from 154.1 to 132.6 in the same time, suggesting the Tier 3 lockdown rules are already taking effect
The metropolitan borough Sefton has seen infections drop slightly in the last week, decreasing from 178 to 176.4
Halton’s rolling seven-day average number of cases has dropped from 64 to 63.3, according to analysis of PHE figures
Despite all signs suggesting the latest lockdown rules are working, Mr Hancock raised fears of new tougher restrictions in the worst affected parts of England today that could close restaurants and shops in a devastating blow to the economy
The figures are available on the Government’s coronavirus dashboard. They are based on specimen date, which is how many coronavirus samples taken on that day came back as positive.
Specimen date figures lag by around five days because of a delay in analysing tests, and even longer over weekends, which is why the figures can only accurately depict outbreaks in towns and cities up to October 16.
Despite all signs suggesting the latest lockdown rules are working, Mr Hancock raised fears of new tougher restrictions in the worst affected parts of England today that could close restaurants and shops in a devastating blow to the economy.
The Health Secretary refused to deny that plans were being made to emulate Nicola Sturgeon’s clampdown in Scotland and bring in a new top Tier 4. Currently England’s Tier system ends at three, which allows restaurants and shops to remain trading, while closing pubs bars which do not serve food.
But asked about reports that there are plans to partially copy Scotland, which has Tier 4 at the top of a five-tier system, Mr Hancock told BBC Breakfast: ‘We’ve always said all along that we take nothing off the table.
‘Having said that, we have seen the rise in the number of cases has slowed a bit. The problem is it’s still going up, and while it’s still going up we’ve got to act to get it under control.
‘We rule nothing out but at the moment the three-tier system is what we’re working to and it’s effective in slowing the growth of this virus but it hasn’t brought this curve to a halt.’
Mr Hancock made similar comments earlier on the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme, where he said: ‘Thankfully since we introduced the tiered system a couple of weeks ago, the rises in the case rate has slowed, but it is still going up. The R rate is still above one and it has a doubling time that has lengthened and is now at around two weeks.’
Swathes of the North West and Yorkshire have been plunged into Tier Three local lockdowns in recent weeks, including Liverpool, Manchester, Lancashire and Sheffield. It has seen pubs and bars close and a ban enforced on different households meeting.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, however, are already having much stricter lockdowns in a bid to halt a surge in cases. Officials in Whitehall are now said to be considering a fourth tier to be added to the Government’s existing system for England, which rates local alert levels under medium, high and very high.
The Government has previously been accused of jumping the gun with new lockdown restrictions before letting previously-imposed rules take effect.
Analysis of official figures shows four out of six regions in Tier Three Merseyside are already seeing cases fall.
St Helens and the Wirral are the two boroughs where cases are still rising, but the rate at which they are increasing has slowed. For example, the Wirral saw infections rise from just 136 to 137.3 in the week ending October 18 (1 per cent). It marks a stark difference from the 31 per cent jump between September 27 and October, when daily cases went from 101.9 to 134.3
In St Helens, cases jumped 5 per cent in the last week, compared to 10 per cent the seven days prior
In the city of Liverpool, average daily infections dropped from 460.3 on October 11 to 387.1 on October 18, the most recent recording period. In Knowsley, daily infections have fell from 154.1 to 132.6 in the same time.
Sefton and Halton have seen infections drop slightly in the last week, decreasing from 178 to 176.4 and 64 to 63.3, respectively. It suggests the Tier 3 measures were already taking effect, despite only coming into force on October 14.
St Helens and the Wirral are the two boroughs where cases are still rising, but the rate at which they are increasing has slowed. For example, the Wirral saw infections rise from just 136 to 137.3 in the week ending October 18 (1 per cent). It marks a stark difference from the 31 per cent jump between September 27 and October, when daily cases went from 101.9 to 134.3. In St Helens, cases jumped 5 per cent in the last week, compared to 10 per cent the seven days prior.
According to The I, sources in Whitehall expect it will be clear by mid November whether existing restrictions are working to reduce daily case numbers.
Wales entered a ‘fire break’ lockdown on Friday, which has seen all non-essential retail, leisure and hospitality businesses close until November 9.
Similar to the nationwide lockdown in March, Welsh residents have been told they can only leave home for a limited number of reasons, such as exercise, providing care or buying essentials.
A row has broken out over the sale of essential items after supermarkets were seen cordoning off aisles and covering up some products.
First Minister Mark Drakeford tweeted on Saturday: ‘We’ll be reviewing how the weekend has gone with the supermarkets and making sure that common sense is applied.
‘Supermarkets can sell anything that can be sold in any other type of shop that isn’t required to close. In the meantime, please only leave home if you need to.’
Meanwhile experts have said Scotland’s 16-day circuit breaker, which has been extended by another week, had little effect on coronavirus infections – which are falling.
Nicola Sturgeon’s scientific advisers themselves warned on Thursday it was ‘too early to detect any impact on transmission from the restrictions introduced on October 9’.
Local leaders have been told by Government that Tier 3 regions need to reduce social contact by 60 per cent.
On Friday five Army and Navy environmental health officers trained in ‘outbreak management’ were deployed in Liverpool on Friday, as the British Army was drafted in to support Tier 3 lockdown measures.
They have been tasked with identifying clusters of local infections, helping control outbreaks and taking action against businesses failing to comply with the Covid-19 rules.
It is thought that further teams will be moved into other high-risk areas within the coming weeks. Labour councillor in Liverpool, Paul Brant, told The I he expected to see Tier 3 rules have some impact on Covid infection rates.
He added: ‘Our fear is that Sage are correct to say that it won’t be enough to drive the R below 1. Even if it does go down below 1, actual case levels have shot up now rapidly.
‘We know from the first wave that infection levels can rise very rapidly and they come down quite slowly, so we could well find ourselves in a situation where R has drifted down but absolute numbers were not.
‘If the numbers don’t significantly improve, no doubt we will be revisiting exactly the same questions about whether further restrictions are going to be necessary to drive the levels down. That is the argument for a short sharp shock.’