As Storm Isha battered much of the UK on Sunday and Monday (21-22 January) it also took a severe toll on retail as footfall across all destinations fell 4.6% week-on-week and was down 5.1% on corresponding 2023 levels.

High streets suffered the steepest drop at -6.4% week-on-week and by -14% year-on-year. By comparison, retail parks and shopping centres were less affected, down 2.4% and 4.7% respectively, due to either their ease of access by car or their enclosed nature.

Scotland and northern parts of England were mostly impacted by the storm with major travel disruption experienced north of the border where footfall on the Monday dropped 18.2% against the previous week.

This was closely followed by the South West where footfall declined 5.9% week on week and by 8% year on year.

However, the footfall dip in Central London on Sunday was pronounced, down 20.8% year-on-year, although Jenni Matthews, Head of Marketing and Insights at MRI Software, added: “As [Monday] progressed, [our] Central London ‘Back to Office’ benchmark improved from witnessing a drop in footfall of up to 6.2% week-on-week up until midday to rebounding to +1.2% for the full day. This suggests that travel disruptions in Southern parts of England were temporary and many commuters likely delayed their journeys into the city.”