ESSENTIAL TRENDS. BID Market Intelligence ISSUE 101 FIGURES FOR FEB 2019

Transcription

1 ESSENTIAL TRENDS BID Market Intelligence ISSUE 101 FIGURES FOR FEB 2019

2 Introduction Welcome to our latest edition of Essential Trends reporting on Edinburgh s footfall during February and March and the retail and hospitality figures for February. February and March produced contrasting footfall results, with a 3.6% year-on-year increase in February being followed by a 4.4% decrease the following month. Our range of retailers in the city centre reported an uplift in sales by 0.5% which matched the wider UK figure and outperformed the rest of Scotland. Hospitality figures mirrored these statistics reporting a modest 0.3% year-on-year increase. Although welcome, this is behind the trends of recent months and years when the hospitality increases have exceeded this small percentage. All experts are not surprisingly highlighting the current political uncertainty All rights reserved. Reproduction or publication of any part of this report is strictly prohibited.

3 February 2019 over Brexit as having a major impact on consumer spending, hopefully by the time we report next month we have a clearer picture in this regard. passenger traffic through Edinburgh Airport, a major driver of tourist and business visitors to our city. It is pleasing to note the continued increase in Roddy Smith Chief Executive Contents 04 Footfall 13 Sales Monitors 16 Parking 18 Airport p3

4 Edinburgh Footfall Index - February & March 2019 February and March have seen a mixed bag when compared to the same months in 2018 in the BID; with February increasing by 3.6% but March down by 4.4% when compared to The non-bid counters did particularly well in February with a 10.8% increase, and March stayed the same. Edinburgh as a whole has seen an annual increase for February of 5.6% and again, March stayed the same. The charts on the following pages will look at annual and monthly footfall averages by day of the week, by area and by hourly intervals compared to February and March In February total footfall counted in the BID exceeded All rights reserved. Reproduction or publication of any part of this report is strictly prohibited.

5 February 2019 p5 6.7M, representing 67% of all footfall counted in Edinburgh. In March, the total count was over 6.8M people, representing 65% of all footfall being counted in Edinburgh.

6 Footfall Daily Averages The following charts look more closely at the average footfall by area, time of the day and day of the week. Annually, February s average daily footfall in 2019 increased within the BID compared to 2018 by 1.7%. In March, annual footfall was flat at 0% increase. The busiest day of the week, by average footfall in the BID area in February, was Saturday with an average daily count of 15,700, closely followed by Friday with 15,400. In March the busiest day was Friday with an average daily count of 14,700, closely followed by Friday with 14,300. Quarter 1 in 2019 compared to quarter is up in all areas; BID area by 1.5%, non BID by 8.3% and Edinburgh as a whole was up by 2.8%. All rights reserved. Reproduction or publication of any part of this report is strictly prohibited.

7 February 2019 p7 It is important to note that events, small changes to bus routes/ stops, traffic diversions, incidents that close roads and the weather all have an impact on footfall. Footfall data source: LDC

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13 February 2019 Sales Monitors for February 2019 p13 Retail sales in Edinburgh s city centre rose slightly during February, turnover compared to February 2018 was up by 0.5%. Within Scotland, sales turnover dipped slightly by 0.1%, while in the UK as a whole sales increased by 0.5%. Retailers participating in the Retail Monitoring Programme provided these figures for February The figures for Edinburgh are based on a sample of city centre retailers. The figures for Scotland and the UK were reported by the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor and the BRC Scottish Retail Sales Monitor. Hospitality businesses, reporting within the Hospitality Monitoring Programme in the city centre of Edinburgh, also saw a slight upturn in sales of 0.3% comparing February 2019 to February 2018.

14 Helen Dickinson OBE, Chief Executive, BRC, commenting on the UK figures said: Uncertainty surrounding the UK s imminent exit from the European Union has hit consumer spending. While real incomes have started to rise over the past year, shoppers have been reluctant to spend this February, holding back growth. This slowdown was not limited to physical stores, with growth in online non-food sales well below the twelve month average. With consumers increasingly aware of the risk of a no deal Brexit, it is likely that uncertainty has driven this cautious approach to retail spending. If government wishes to reassure both the public and businesses, they should ensure a chaotic no deal which would lead to higher costs, higher prices, and less choice for consumers is taken off the table with immediate effect. Ewan MacDonald Russell, Head of Policy & External Affairs, Scottish Retail Consortium, commenting on the Scottish figures said: It was a dreich February for Scottish retailers as sales fell back with a real terms fall of All rights reserved. Reproduction or publication of any part of this report is strictly prohibited.

15 February 2019 p15 0.8%. That s below the quarterly and annual trends and shows a pattern of slowing sales as economic pressures cut into consumer spending. Food sales continue to show growth, albeit that s still as much a consequence of food price inflation of 1.6 per cent. However, that growth was more than offset by further decline in non-food sales, with discretionary products performing particularly poorly. Even romance associated with St Valentine s Day wasn t enough to encourage consumers into stores, with clothing and fragrance sales weak. Our concern is the drumbeat of negative political news is influencing shoppers decisions. Between Brexit uncertainty and news of further taxes and levies in the Scottish budget accord; consumers are understandably cautious about committing to spending. Politicians from all parties should be careful to keep their language temperate in coming weeks, and in particular, come together to thrash out a deal to avoid the risks of a disorderly exit from the EU. Doing so would be a positive step which should help to reassure nervous customers.. Can you participate in the city centre monitoring programme? We are looking for more retail and hospitality businesses to participate in this anonymous programme. For more information about how to join the Turnover Monitoring Project, please contact STR, who manages this project on our behalf: cshanks@str.com or You are sent the sales performance information before publication in if you agree to participate in the City Centre Monitoring Project.

16 Parking Index: February 2019 The information below shows the number of times and length of time each parking bay is used during the chargeable period. The higher the turnover of paid parking spaces, the more opportunities for shoppers to find a space. The table below reflects the levels of usage of parking bays during the times when parking charges are levied: Monday to Saturday 8:30am 5:30pm in areas with lower parking ticket sales 8:30am 6:30pm in areas with higher ticket sales In the New Town there are 959 bays in zones 1A and 2, which covers the Essential Edinburgh BID area. It should be noted that the average daily number of transactions per bay during trading hours and the average length of time parked are derived from transactions at parking ticket machines, All rights reserved. Reproduction or publication of any part of this report is strictly prohibited.

17 February 2019 p17 which vary throughout the year. The relatively low number of daily transactions per bay is likely to be due to the usage of the bays by holders of resident s parking permits. The city average turnover of parking spaces per day during February was 0.8. In the New Town the average was 0.8, Old Town average was 0.9, this compares to 0.6 in the West End and 0.3 in the East End. Parking Utilisation Shoppers looking to park their car are more likely to find a space in the streets that are less utilised. It is clear that George Street had the highest levels of utilisation, followed by Queen Street. The streets that are used less than average for parking include; Young Street, Thistle Street, Heriot Row, Abercromby Place and Glenfinlas Street.

18 Props to the Rugby Passenger numbers at Edinburgh Airport increased by 11% last month as the Six Nations rugby tournament saw fans flying into the capital. A total of 939,412 passengers came through the airport in February, up from 846,502 on the same month last year, with strong new route growth and season extensions also contributing. It s the busiest February on record at Edinburgh Airport. Last February also saw Beast from the East and Ryanair s decision to pause the Stansted route impact on passenger numbers. Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport said: time we were confident they would because our appeal both in terms of outward and inward tourism remains strong. Clearly no heavy days of snow has been welcomed and we always see an influx of rugby fans who see Edinburgh and Murrayfield as a must visit destination and stadium. We should also take confidence in the fact that the continuity of flights no matter the Brexit outcome has been guaranteed and that should allow passengers to plan with confidence. But we should still be looking to give ourselves the best possible outlook by cutting APD and showing that we remain open and an attractive destination. Passenger numbers have rebounded well since last February and we said at the Gordon Robertson, Director of Communications or gordon_robertson@edinburghairport.com All rights reserved. Reproduction or publication of any part of this report is strictly prohibited.

19 February 2019 p19 Essential Edinburgh All rights reserved. Reproduction or publication of any part of this report is strictly prohibited. Essential Edinburgh 113 Rose Street Edinburgh EH2 t: +44 (0) e: Parking statistic source: