essential trends

BID Market Intelligence

ESSENTIAL TRENDS

ISSUE 105FIGURES FOR 2019

Essential Trends

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Edinburgh unfortunately suffered a decline in footfall in 2019, reporting a 1.3% overall fall compared to 2018. The figures reflect a fairly consistent pattern, although September was an especially poor month which undoubtedly affected the full year figures. December showed a fall of 6% on the previous year’s figures, reflecting the ongoing national trend.

Happily, the retail sales in the city have outperformed both the UK and Scotland both across the whole year and in December. Across the whole of 2019 the city recorded a small increase of 0.2% despite the difficult trading conditions, whilst December showed a pleasing 2.8% year on year increase.

The city’s hospitality businesses continued to perform well, showing a full

Welcome to our annual printed edition of Essential Trends, showing the key retail and footfall figures for 2019 as well as an update on the crucial December period.

Introduction

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year increase of 6.7% and a December rise of 1.7%

It is pleasing to see the city perform well against Scotland and UK wide figures, which reflects both the hard work of the retail and hospitality sector and the strength of our tourist and visitor offer. This edition also highlights another

hugely successful year for the city’s airport which showed growth of over 3% to record their highest ever passenger numbers.

Roddy SmithChief Executive

04 Footfall

08 Sales Monitors

14 Edinburgh Visitors Survey

20 Parking

22 Airport

Contents

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Edinburgh Footfall 2019

Footfall across Edinburgh follows a yearly pattern, with footfall gradually climbing through late winter into spring and through early summer to a peak in August. Footfall dips in September following the end of the summer festivals, before increasing to a second peak in December.

As with 2018, December saw the highest footfall of the year, followed by August, with almost 5.9 million and over 5.6 million people respectively, counted in the BID area.

As you would expect, Princes Street saw the highest footfall of all streets with over 22.5

million people counted in 2019.

During 2019 the BID recorded an annual decline in footfall of 2.5% compared to 2018, non-BID footfall increased marginally at 0.3% resulting in a 1.3% decrease in footfall across Edinburgh.

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The BID area had 55% of all Edinburgh footfall, the same figure as 2018.

The year started strongly for the BID area with annual increases in both January and February, but showed a small decline through March and April followed by a huge drop of 9% in May.

The non-BID area counters showed declines in February and March but growth through April and May.

All of Edinburgh saw a decline in June with both BID and non-BID areas performing

similarly. This shifted through the summer months with the BID recording increases in both July and August but a significant decline in September of 9.3%.

Non-BID areas recorded declines in footfall in July and August but huge growth in September of over 15%.

The BID continued to record declines in footfall through to the end of the year, non-BID areas showed small growth in November but also declined similarly in October and December.

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During December, Edinburgh city centre retailers saw an increase in sales of 2.8% compared to December 2018, outstripping both Scottish and UK figures of 0.4% and 1.9% respectively. Looking at the 2019 average, there was a slight increase on 2018 – up by 0.2% despite the difficult trading conditions, while Scotland saw a fall of 0.4% and the UK dropped by 0.5%.

The city centre’s hospitality

sector fared even better, recording a year on year increase of 6.7% with an increase in December of 1.7% compared to December 2018.

The figures for Edinburgh are based on a sample of city centre retailers participating in the Sales Monitor Programme undertaken by STR. The figures for Scotland and the UK were reported by the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor and the BRC Scottish

Edinburgh city centre has outperformed Scotland and the UK in the most recent annual retail sales figures, as well as recording growth during the vital December trading period.

Sales Monitors for 2019

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Retail Sales Monitor.

Roddy Smith, Essential Edinburgh CEO, said:

“It is no secret that retail has been going through some very difficult times, and that remains the case. Edinburgh has by no means been exempt, but it is heartening that our efforts to ensure that both residents and visitors know and appreciate all the city centre has to offer appear to be helping.

“Our ‘Sign of a Great Time’ marketing campaign – which we fund on behalf of our member businesses – is now in its second year, and the

indicators are clearly there that it is having a positive impact. Our partnership with Lothian Buses, who have branded a bus for us that travels all over the area, has also been very helpful in raising awareness.

“Edinburgh Gift Card sales also grew during the festive period by 76% and because the Edinburgh Gift Card is only redeemable in city centre businesses, this valuable spend will continue to benefit city centre businesses this year.

Undoubtedly the additional attraction of Edinburgh’s

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Christmas and Hogmanay activities will also have helped boost numbers.

“Clearly, the fact that Edinburgh is an enormously attractive visitor destination almost all year round is another major factor.

But most important of all is that both residents and visitors are drawn to the wonderful shopping and hospitality experience that our amazing city centre offers.”

Paul Martin, Partner, UK Head of Retail KPMG, commenting on UK’s December figures said:

“At first glance retailers’ relentlessness paid off in

December, with total sales up 1.9%. However, the later timing of Black Friday will have skewed the outcome. If looking at November and December combined, sales actually declined by 0.9%.

“Consumers clearly favoured logging on to walking in, with online sales up 12.8% in December. However, if taking a two-month average, growth online was clearly muted at only 2.6.%.

“All growth will be welcome, although the true performance of Christmas trading is still to be determined. The cost of customer returns must not be overlooked. That’s especially true as online fulfilment

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already costs retailers a pretty penny. Christmas trading reports will likely be mixed, but those that have truly performed well will have managed margin and costs well over both the Christmas period and beyond.”

David Lonsdale, Director, Scottish Retail Consortium, commenting on Scottish festive figures said:

“It was more bleak midwinter than festive frolics for Scottish retailers as shop takings slipped during the critical Christmas trading period. Over the crucial two-month period leading up to Christmas, real terms sales dipped by 0.5 percent – the second

successive year of negative figures. That rounded off a pretty tepid 2019, which saw Online-adjusted sales nudge up by 0.3 percent across the year.

“Non-food sales were mixed, with kitchen appliances, bluetooth devices and beauty ranges performing reasonably. However, clothing and footwear struggled, in part due to consumers looking to take more financially discerning and environmentally sustainable approaches to their Christmas shopping. Customers tended to shop early, around Black Friday discounting, and in the final few days before Christmas – with some

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retailers reporting as a consequence that Boxing Day sales were slow.

“Nonetheless retailers will be slightly disappointed, albeit a little relieved Scottish trading figures were a touch more buoyant than elsewhere in the UK. That provides two lessons for policymakers. It’s essential there continues to be a focus on keeping down costs for consumers, especially with a Scottish Budget imminent and siren calls for a myriad of measures which could put up costs for hard-pressed households.”

Helen Dickinson OBE, Chief Executive of BRC commenting

on UK annual figures said:

“2019 was the worst year on record and the first year to show an overall decline in retail sales.

This was also reflected in the CVAs, shop closures and job losses that the industry suffered in 2019. Twice the UK faced the prospect of a no deal Brexit, as well as political instability that concluded in a December General Election - further weakening demand for the festive period.

The industry continues to transform in response to the changing technologies and shopping habits. Black Friday overtook Christmas as the

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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:[email protected] or 0131 460 7103.

You are sent the sales performance information before publication in Essential Trends if you agree to participate in the City Centre Monitoring Project.

biggest shopping week of the year for non-food items. Retailers also faced challenges as consumers became both more cautious and more conscientious as they went about their Christmas shopping.”

Paul Martin, Partner, UK Head of Retail, KPMG commenting on Scottish annual figures said:

“The latest figures reflect the overwhelming challenges facing Scotland’s High Streets. 2019 was dominated by the loss of a series of high-profile retail names, and it appears the usual pre-Christmas rush has failed to significantly turn around fortunes.

“At first sight, an increase in

sales of 0.4 per cent offers some relief, but the late date of Black Friday has somewhat skewed the figures and, if we look at both November and December for comparison with last year, a drop in sales of almost 1 per cent offers a more realistic picture of the struggle facing the retail industry. With greater clarity over Brexit and a slight rise in overall business optimism, we could see consumer confidence return, but retailers are facing significant challenges, driven by a huge range of factors – from a reduction in traditional demand towards new channels, increased costs and continued economic uncertainty.”

mailto:tanderson%40str.com?subject=

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Edinburgh Visitors Survey - Annual 2019 ResultsIn 2019, STR interviewed 1,175 visitors to the New Town area of Edinburgh in order to understand, among other things, the types of visitors in the area, their reasons for visiting and the range of activities they had undertaken.

Visitors were asked to rate the importance of a range of factors on their decision to come to Edinburgh.

The table below shows the top 10 factors that influenced the

decision to visit.

As in 2018, the most influential factor in deciding to come to Edinburgh was “the city and its history”, this was followed by “to explore history and

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heritage of the city” as the key reasons for visiting.

The next most important reasons for visiting were “the ambiance of Edinburgh” and “to experience a new place and culture” ranking third and fourth, respectively.

Aspects such as “to expand understanding”, “to enjoy a vibrant city life”, “to relax and unwind” and “museums / art galleries / visitor attractions”

were also important factors which influenced the decision to visit.

Visitors to the New Town were asked what activities they undertook within the central shopping / BID Area.

As in 2018, the most common activities in the New Town area were walking around, shopping and visiting restaurants & cafes, mentioned by 77%, 68% and 60% of

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Visitors to the New Town area of the city were asked to rate aspects of the visitor experience using a rating scale from 1 to 5 with 1 =“very poor” and 5 = “very good”.

visitors respectively.

Compared with 2018, these findings represented an increase in the incidence of walking around and a decrease in shopping.

As shown in the graph below, visitors attributed the highest satisfaction scores for the New Town area in terms of the

variety of things to do (4.39) and its art galleries, museums, and visitor attractions (4.38). Other aspects of the visitor experience were also rated well with each element rated above four out of five.

The scores were largely similar to those recorded in 2018 which indicates consistent levels of service and visitor

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experiences in these six key areas.

The average spend of BID area visitors (per visitor, per day) was £100.23 in 2019.

This constituted a 14.8%

reduction in spend per visitor per day compared to 2018.

Decreased expenditure compared to 2018 was recorded for each spend category with the largest decreases evident for

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accommodation (-19.3%) and entertainment, which included visits to attractions and tours (-15.1%).

Accommodation spend was again the largest spending category, accounting for 52.6% of the total expenditure.

Among overnight visitors to Edinburgh, an identical trend

was evident as all categories saw a year-on-year decrease.

Overall, New Town visitors who stayed overnight spent 15.7% less per person per day in 2019 than in 2018.

That said, the average length of stay increased slightly among these visitors so although they spent less per

Summary of Visitor Profile:Place of Origin

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day they stayed longer in the city in 2019 compared to 2018.

The survey recorded a similar mix of visitors by origin compared to 2018.

As shown in the pie chart on page 18, overseas visitors were again the most common type of visitor by origin making up 54% of the overall sample.

Visitors from England were the second most common group accounting for 33% of visitors, whilst those from Scotland made up 9% of all visitors.

There was a good spread of visitors across different age groups. The key audiences were those aged 25-34 and 45-54 who accounted for 23% and 21%, respectively.

Summary of Visitor Profile:Age of visitor to the BID area

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Parking Index: 2019The 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.

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, 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 for the whole of 2019 was 0.9. In the New Town the average was 0.9, as was the Old Town, this compares to 0.7 in the West End and 0.4 in the East End.

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Parking UtilisationShoppers looking to park their car are more likely to find a space in the streets that are less utilised. It is clear that Thistle Street had the highest levels of utilisation, followed by George Street for 2019.

The streets that are used less than average for parking include; Young Street, St Colme Street, Heriot Row, Abercromby Place and Glenfinlas Street.

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

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A Record Year

A total of 14,747,830 people travelled through Edinburgh Airport last year, making 2019 the busiest in the airport’s history and the busiest ever year for a Scottish airport.

The numbers are up 3.1% on 2018 with growth in international passengers driving the increase.

The figures follow a rise in passenger numbers for December:

Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport said:

“We’re delighted to deliver a record year for any Scottish airport as passengers continued to take advantage of new routes, new airlines and the opportunity to expand their horizons and travel the world.

“We never lose sight of the fact that the airport is a conduit to a whole host of things. We play our part in tourism, business, education, research and culture. We are that gateway to Scotland and the world, and direct connectivity to countries across the world plays a huge part in that success.

“Clearly, we want to see that success continue to benefit Edinburgh and Scotland and travel will always be a part of that, but we do have a responsibility to manage that success in a sustainable manner.

“We appreciate that we need to show leadership in this area and we are currently finalising a strategy which will map out our approach to operations at Edinburgh to make them even

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www.edinburghairport.com Gordon Robertson, Director of Communications 07785 372961 or email: [email protected]

more sustainable than they already are. We look forward to sharing that strategy and engaging with our communities on it.

“Finally, I would like to thank all staff across campus who

worked to make this a record year for Edinburgh Airport. We all play a part in the journey of our passengers and it is that team approach which helps us to deliver the many big days that are experienced every day.”

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Parking statistic source:

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