When footfall falls, marketing matters more
18 Mar 2026
Despite a wider decline in UK retail footfall, not all destinations are seeing the same impact. Those that continue to perform are using marketing more strategically to convert more intentional visits into revenue. So what are they doing?
In this environment, raw volume matters less than it once did. What matters more is the quality of the visits and the ability to convert intent into spend.
When trading conditions tighten, marketing becomes strategic
Periods of uncertainty often prompt difficult decisions around spend. Marketing budgets, in particular, are frequently viewed as discretionary – something to be reduced until conditions improve. In practice, the opposite is often true.
When footfall softens or becomes more selective, well-targeted, insight-led destination marketing plays a stabilising role helping assets reinforce relevance in a crowded market and guide customer behaviour more effectively.
Recent data from the BRC shows that UK retail footfall in 2025 fell behind 2024 levels, with December (traditionally the strongest trading period of the year) underperforming expectations. On the surface, this reinforces a familiar narrative – pressure on physical retail, cautious consumers, a more selective approach to visiting destinations. But viewed through a commercial lens, it also reveals that not all retail destinations are performing the same anymore and the gap between the ones doing well and the ones struggling ones is getting bigger.
Falling footfall doesn’t mean falling opportunity, these latest footfall figures point to not the decline of physical retail, but a shift in behaviour.
Consumers are visiting fewer places, less often but with greater intent. Trips are more planned, expectations are higher and destinations that fail to articulate a clear reason to visit are increasingly bypassed.
In uncertain markets, marketing is often reduced – but that’s when it plays its most critical role.
Marketing that is rooted in behavioural insight and commercial objectives does not exist to generate noise. It exists to protect revenue. Conversely, when marketing is reduced or disconnected from outcomes, assets often feel the impact indirectly – through weaker conversion, increased tenant pressure and heightened risk to NOI.
Rather than asking whether marketing should be cut or protected, the more productive question is whether marketing is genuinely working hard enough for the asset, is it supporting conversion, stabilising income and reinforcing long-term relevance.
As footfall patterns continue to evolve, assets that treat marketing as a commercial lever rather than a discretionary cost are likely to be better positioned, not just to weather volatility, but to outperform when conditions improve.
If these trends reflect what you’re seeing across your own scheme(s), it’s worth pressure-testing where destination marketing is actively protecting revenue and where it may need sharper commercial focus.