Pre-Christmas visitor slump stays for 2010

THE slump in the number of people visiting Edinburgh's city centre has continued into the January sales, new figures reveal today.

In the week that included Christmas Day, city centre footfall plummeted by nearly a fifth compared with the 2008 equivalent.

And the downturn in shopper numbers continued into the first full week of the sales, with footfall down nine per cent.

It comes after the Evening News revealed last month that the number of people visiting the city centre declined by 6.3 per cent in the three weeks up to December 20.

Retailers had hoped Christmas falling on a Friday would mean that the extra day's midweek trading in the last week before Christmas would result in a late rally.

But today's figures reveal that the decline was even worse in the week commencing December 21 than in the weeks before, falling 17.7 per cent. Bad weather has been blamed for keeping people out of the city centre – or encouraging them to walk around less.

Councillor Tom Buchanan, the city's economic development leader, said: "These numbers are disappointing but hardly surprising – after all, we're in the midst of the coldest snap in 30 years.

"That said, footfall is only one of many indicators we use and, with retailers and visitor attractions reporting a strong festive season, it is clear Edinburgh's city centre remains a popular destination."

The data, compiled using the council's 17 footfall counters spread across the city centre, shows that every street except Lothian Road and the Grassmarket suffered a decline in the week beginning December 21.

The biggest decline was at South Bridge, where pedestrian numbers declined by an average of 40 per cent. Princes Street suffered a 17 per cent decline, while Rose Street was down 18 per cent and George Street – which benefited in previous months from bus diversions – fell by 15 per cent. It was a similar story the next week, with all streets except Lothian Road, the Grassmarket and George Street seeing year-on-year declines.

Ron Hewitt, chief executive of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said: "The weather has to be a factor because the figures coming from some of the retailers are good. It suggests that the people who were coming were coming to buy. You wouldn't go into the city centre in these conditions if you weren't going to buy."

But retailers at the St James Centre – the city centre's biggest shopping centre – are said to have benefited from the weather, with footfall rising as shoppers shunned icy streets. Bosses said footfall was up slightly in the week of December 28, after a strong Christmas and New Year period.

General manager Rochelle Weir said: "A number of our retailers have reported strong sales and footfall over the Christmas and New Year period, providing a positive boost to sales figures in what continues to be a challenging time for retailers.

"We do also know that shoppers enjoy the convenience of easy parking and not having to face the really adverse weather conditions we have experienced in the last few weeks."