LONDON: Northern Ireland outperformed the rest of the UK in shopper numbers during May but political wrangling is not helping the province a retail lobby has claimed.
Northern Ireland Retail Consortium director Aodhán Connolly said the lack of political progress was causing a disconnect in the flow of normal business and planning.
“Although we have seen a very marginal fall in footfall, we have still seen a relatively encouraging growth of 0.7 per cent over the past three months,” he said.
However the current political and economic uncertainty here, could have an effect on not only consumer confidence but on long term investment decisions.
Northern Ireland politics has come a long way, however for the second time in less than a year we have seen the political process hit the pause button and this isn’t good for business..
UK-wide, both high streets and shopping centres reported a decline, falling 1.5 and 2.0 per cent respectively.
Footfall in out-of-town locations fared the best with a 1.4 per cent increase year-on-year, an improvement on the 0.5 per cent rise in April and a continuation of its positive trend.
Many retailers have a choice over where to invest, often elsewhere in the UK or indeed internationally,” said Mr Connolly.
