Year-on-year footfall at UK retail dropped yesterday
We have further signs today that this is not a brilliant Christmas for the retail sector.
Yesterday, year-on-year footfall at UK shopping destinations was 1.2% lower than on 23rd December 2023 (a Saturday), according to retail technology firm MRI Software.
Visits to UK high streets were 5.3% lower than a year ago, reflecting the general decline in physical shopping since the Covid-19 pandemic, although this was somewhat balanced out by a 4.9% rise at retail parks.
On a weekly basis, footfall was up 28.5% in all UK retail destinations compared to the week before.
Jenni Matthews, marketing and insights director at MRI Software, says:
This spike reflects the attraction of the vast leisure and retail options available to consumers especially large families buying those last-minute gifts, groceries and also looking for that experiential element to keep the children entertained. High streets also saw strong week on week growth (+18.8%) however this was over half of what was seen in shopping centres.
However, footfall remained 5.3% lower in high streets compared to the same date last year suggesting the cost of living pressures continue for many families. This was also reflected in modest year on year rises recorded in shopping centres and retail parks of +1.4% and +4.9%, respectively.
Key events
American Airlines’ shares aren’t suffering badly from this morning’s disruption.
They’re down 0.4% in early trading at $17.18, having recovered most of their pre-market losses before Wall Street opened.
Airlines set for busiest Christmas season ever
The disruption at American Airlines came today as the industry prepared for its busiest Christmas season ever.
A record 54mn passengers are forecast to fly on US carriers between December 19 and January 6, according to trade group Airlines for America (A4A).
UK carriers are also expecting a record-breaking festive period, with 6.1m seats expected to be flown between December 20 and January 2, aviation data company Cirium has predicted.
The FT has more details.
Wall Street trading has begun, rather gently, on the final day before the Christmas break.
Barely a mouse is stirring on the Dow Jones industrial average, which has gained 4 points, or 0.0097%, in early trading to 42,911 points.
There’s a little more action on the broader S&P 500 index – it’s risen by 17.5 points, or 0.29%, to 5,991 points.
Palantir Technologies are the top riser, up 4.6%, following reports the company is in talks to create a consortium to jointly bid for US government work.
Elon Musk’s Tesla is close behind, up 3.7%.
This is helping to lift the Nasdaq composite index of tech stocks up by 0.5%.
American Airline’s shares had dropped by around 3.8% in pre-market trading after reporting the technical problem that forced a temporary stop to flights.
But now that the ground has been cancelled, they’ve recovered most of that ground – and are down just 0.8% with 30 minutes before Wall Street opens.
CNN confirms that American Airlines is boarding flights again, after the FAA lifted its nationwide groundstop.
They say:
“We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience,” American Airlines said in a statement.
David Myers, a 62-year-old disaster consultant traveling from from Salisbury, Maryland, to New Orleans with a layover in Charlotte said he was first alerted to the issue at 6 am Tuesday morning. He and his wife are trying to spend Christmas with their children.
“It’s Christmas Eve, so complaining doesn’t seem quite right,” Myers told CNN. “And safety always comes first. But more information at the gate would be helpful.”
American Airlines lifts ground stop after unspecified technical issue
There’s been some worrying disruption to pre-Christmas flights in the US today – but happily, the problem may now be fixed.
An unspecified technical issue forced American Airlines to suspend all flights earlier today, which must have delayed travel plans for some passengers across the country.
The airline told one passenger, on X, that it was “currently experiencing a technical issue with all American Airlines flights”.
We’re currently experiencing a technical issue with all American Airlines flights. Your safety is our utmost priority, once this is rectified, we’ll have you safely on your way to your destination.
— americanair (@AmericanAir) December 24, 2024
🚨AMERICAN AIRLINE PASSENGERS🚨 There is a FULL GROUND STOP for all @AmericanAir flights right now due to technical issues. They are hoping to get things back up and running asap. Not ideal on a busy travel day like Christmas Eve. Stick with @WGNMorningNews for updates. pic.twitter.com/DwI6J1vHau
— Brhett Vickery (@BrhettVickery) December 24, 2024
But after roughly an hour, the ground stop has now been lifted, according to a notice on the U.S. aviation regulator’s website.
FTSE 100 rises on first day of Santa Rally season
London’s stock market has closed for Christmas, after a morning in which shares have risen in the City.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 share index has closed up 34 points, or 0.4%, at 8136 – meaning the traditional seven day “Santa Claus Rally” period has got off to a solid, if unspectacular start (see earlier post for details of this festive stock market theme).
AirTel Africa finished the shortened session as the top riser, up 3.8%, after beginning a new share buyback progrmme, followed by Pershing Square (+2.2%), mining company Anglo American (+2%) and Vodafone (+1.9%).
Housbuilders, though, had a poor day following this morning’s profits warning from Vistry. Persimmon was the top FTSE 100 faller, down 2.4%.
Vistry itself has posted a 16% plunge today, putting it firmly at the bottom of the FTSE 250 share index.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says the FTSE 100 has risen despite recent “lacklustre economic data”, adding:
Monday’s session saw the index close slightly lower after opening in the red, as final GDP figures revealed the UK economy stalled in the third quarter with no growth from the prior period and just a 0.9% annual rise.
Adding to the wintry chill, second-quarter growth was revised down from 0.5% to 0.4%, stoking concerns about the UK’s slowing momentum heading into the new year.
With 30 minutes trading to go… the London stock market is still showing gains.
The FTSE 100 index is up 0.57%, while the samller FTSE 250 index has gained 0.7% – despite Vistry dragging it down after this morning’s profit warning.
Year-on-year footfall at UK retail dropped yesterday
We have further signs today that this is not a brilliant Christmas for the retail sector.
Yesterday, year-on-year footfall at UK shopping destinations was 1.2% lower than on 23rd December 2023 (a Saturday), according to retail technology firm MRI Software.
Visits to UK high streets were 5.3% lower than a year ago, reflecting the general decline in physical shopping since the Covid-19 pandemic, although this was somewhat balanced out by a 4.9% rise at retail parks.
On a weekly basis, footfall was up 28.5% in all UK retail destinations compared to the week before.
Jenni Matthews, marketing and insights director at MRI Software, says:
This spike reflects the attraction of the vast leisure and retail options available to consumers especially large families buying those last-minute gifts, groceries and also looking for that experiential element to keep the children entertained. High streets also saw strong week on week growth (+18.8%) however this was over half of what was seen in shopping centres.
However, footfall remained 5.3% lower in high streets compared to the same date last year suggesting the cost of living pressures continue for many families. This was also reflected in modest year on year rises recorded in shopping centres and retail parks of +1.4% and +4.9%, respectively.
Elsewhere in the car industry, shares in Honda and Nissan have jumped today after the two car makers confirmed they are in talks about a possible three-way merger with Mitsubishi.
Honda shares have jumped 12% today, while Nissan gained 6%.
Combining Japan’s second- and third-largest carmakers, plus Mitsubishi, would create the world’s third-largest carmaker in terms of annual sales, behind only Japanese rival Toyota and Germany’s Volkswagen.
It’s a defensive effort to join forces as the automotive industry goes through its biggest ever period of upheaval.
