Shops Suffer As Cost Of Living Crisis Bites

The cost of living crisis has begun to hit the high street according to the latest data from the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium. This news will come as little surprise really, as the general public are finding they have less money to spend due to spiralling inflation and huge increases in energy prices.

Shops See Big Drop In Footfall

During February of this year there was a 15.5% drop in footfall in the shops of Northern Ireland compared with data from two years ago before the pandemic. And this compares unfavourably with data from the whole of the UK which shows footfall down by 14.9% in the same period. Footfall was also 6% down in February from the previous month, January.

An Underwhelming Performance After Some Encouraging Months

Talking about this drop in footfall to the Belfast Telegraph, Aodhán Connolly, Northern Ireland Retail Consortium director, said:

Shopper footfall in Northern Ireland fell in February, compared to the same period prior to the pandemic.

“This was an underwhelming performance after three or four encouraging months and given the rescinding of Covid restrictions in the middle of the month.

“That said, the dip wasn’t uniform across all destinations as shopping centres saw a modest improvement during the month.

“However, these figures do underline the protracted nature of the recovery and the need for continued support from policy makers particularly in the short-term to encourage and entice shoppers back,” he added.

“With much of our wider economy ultimately dependent on what happens to consumer spending it is crucial that the election manifestos of the political parties take a coherent approach to supporting the industry and the customers it serves.”

Shops Have Been Given A Lift From The Retail Voucher Scheme

The Retail Voucher Scheme, which gave every adult in Northern Ireland a pre-paid card with £100 on it to spend in independent high street shops up and down the country, did give the local economy a boost and was very much welcomed by all the independent stores. There is no doubt that we will need more schemes such as these to see us through the tough times that are ahead for both businesses and consumers.

Nobody could have predicted that we would have to deal with a worldwide pandemic, a war in Ukraine with all its implications, and a cost of living crisis, on top of issues with the Protocol, all in the last two years. But these are the cards we have been dealt with and in unusual times special measures are required to see us all through the next few months and maybe longer.