Trading in city centres bounces back

The latest Top Cities report shows sales were between 1% and 13% higher than in the corresponding four-week period in 2019 in each city. This is the first time all 10 cities have been in growth since the first report at the beginning of 2022, with sales growing in London for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

“It’s fantastic to see the sector bouncing back and showing signs of growth,” says Julian Ross, founder and CEO of Wireless Social.

“The fact that major hubs, like London, are beginning to pick up is hugely encouraging.”

Glasgow tops the list of most vibrant cities, ahead of Bristol, Manchester, and Edinburgh. Cities dropping down the rankings in the latest four-week period include Birmingham and Liverpool, while London saw its best performance for device log-ins, likely due to the impact of the Jubilee period.

However, log-ins remain well down in all 10 cities compared to 2019, indicating that growth is being driven by higher spend-per-visit rather than footfall.

“The slow but steady recovery of sales in London is particularly encouraging, and we can expect it to continue tracking back towards its pre-Covid vibrancy over the summer,” says Chris Jeffrey, CGA client director

“However, city-centre footfall clearly remains some way short of the levels of 2019, and high inflation is making it hard for businesses to achieve growth in real terms. As cost pressures squeeze consumers’ spending, we can expect some challenging trading conditions as we move into the second half of 2022.”