Normal EU In-Store Clothing Retail at UK Pre-Christmas Peak Levels
Footfall across British clothes shops has been lower than the rest of Europe for the entire pandemic as tough lockdown measures push customers to online retailers. While footfall across UK clothing retailers has flatlined during this second lockdown, it’s significant to note that equivalent levels in Europe have been tracking at 30pts since early December.

Different countries have implemented restrictions for non-essential shopping in different ways. Spain operates a regional system, where local cases determine the status of non-essential retail. Germany has tightened restrictions. France and Austria have re-opened the sector with caveats.
In aggregate, 30pts is equivalent to the brief period between lockdowns pre-Christmas, where clothes shopping in the UK lept to 37pts on December 9th before falling away again to 10pts on Christmas day, where it has remained since. So current levels in Europe are equivalent to the pre-Christmas rush experienced here in the UK.
With high street stalwarts such as Debenhams and the Arcadia group shuttering their stores and consolidation brought by online retailers such as Boohoo and Asos, this is surely a transformative time for the industry.
Huq Industries publishes high-frequency economic data across a range of themes derived from its first-party geo-mobility data. Our first-party, verified and compliant data supports a broad range of applications in financial services, real-estate, and public sector and CPG. Whichever research themes you are following, Huq offers a fast and reliable means to measure business and societal trends with confidence.
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