Mobile data saw a 7% drop in weekend high street and shopping centre visits in 2024, despite Britishers’ desire to support independent businesses.
Virgin Media O2 Business published its second full-year Movers Index, revealing a 7% fall in weekend high street and shopping centre visits last year. However, Britishers are on a mission to save local shops in 2025, as 65% have ambitions to support their local high street.
Despite a strong start to 2024, with 65% of Britishers saying supporting their local high street was important to them, the year painted a tougher picture for many retailers.
Store closures surged by 28%, with 63% expressing worries about further closures. Compounding this, 53% of retailers reported a noticeable decline in shoppers spending time in-store, with reduced spending noted by 40%.
Despite shoppers claiming to be willing to pay an extra 23% more to support local businesses, 23% admitted to shopping less frequently on their local high street last year. This is reflected in the numbers of weekend trips to high street and shopping centre areas, which fell by 5% and 9% respectively from 2023 to 2024.
From April to December, trips were lower in 2024 than in 2023, with the largest falls in the summer months and a 4% fall in December, a release from the company said.
However, January and March exhibited footfall growth, meaning retailers could look hopefully towards March 2025 for a similar rebound.
The Movers Index reveals technology has become indispensable for budget-conscious shoppers, with 77% of Britishers using it to enhance their in-person shopping experience, like checking online prices and finding deals; 11% do so every time they shop.
Shoppers emphasise the importance of being able to compare prices online (42%) and name good WiFi (22%) and strong mobile connectivity (21%) as two of the top three features attracting them to shop in-store .
With 34% of Brits aiming to cut down overspending on non-essential items and 33% reducing impulse buying, every penny counts for retailers. Technology-related frustrations, like self-checkout glitches, have consequences for retailers, with 38% of shoppers leaving or avoiding returning to stores due to complicated or frustrating tech in 2024. This rises to over half for GenZ.
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