Fewer consumers visited retail stores in the United Kingdom during the holiday shopping season and the entire year of 2024.

Compared to the previous year, footfall — the number of people entering a store or shopping area — was down by 2.5% during the three months ended Dec. 28 and down by 2.2% during the full year, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Sensormatic said in a Friday (Jan. 3) press release.

This was the second consecutive year in which British retailers saw a decline in store traffic, according to the release.

“High streets and shopping [centers] were hit particularly hard throughout the year as people veered toward retail parks to take advantage of free parking and the variety of larger stores,” BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said in the release. “Even the Golden Quarter, typically the peak of shopping activity, provided little relief, with footfall down over the period.”

During the five weeks ended Dec. 28, total U.K. footfall decreased by 2.2% year over year, according to the release. Shopping center footfall was down 3.3%, high street footfall was down 2.7% and retail park footfall was unchanged.

“Retailers will now need to look afresh to 2025 and chart a course to adopt innovative strategies to reverse this trend or [maximize] the sales potential of fewer visitors, finding new ways to make each store visit count,” Andy Sumpter, retail consultant EMEA for Sensormatic, said in the release.

When reporting November retail sales figures Dec. 20, the BRC said in a press release that retailers hoped to see an increase in sales during the days before Christmas. At that point, sales had “stagnated” due to higher energy bills, low consumer sentiment, mild weather that impacted sales of winter apparel, and consumers holding out for Black Friday sales.

It was reported Dec. 26 that a decline in footfall at U.K. retailers on Boxing Day was due to consumers’ shift to eCommerce and the country’s cost-of-living crisis.

Compared to last year, post-Christmas holiday footfall on U.K. high streets was down 10.1%, while that at shopping centers was down 6.1%, the BBC reported, citing data from MRI Software.

Compared to pre-COVID levels, the number of in-store visits declined by 22.7%, according to the report.