Northern Ireland
This coverage focuses on retail developments in Northern Ireland, including store openings and closures, local consumer trends, investment initiatives, and regional market performance. Reporting examines how retailers adapt strategy, site selection, and operations to the region’s economic, cultural, and demographic context — providing insights for executives, managers, and professionals overseeing retail activity across Northern Ireland.
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Aug- 2022 -4 AugustEconomy
Footfall declines in July as north-south divide grows
Footfall weakened in July to -14.2% below 2019 from -12.3% in June 2022 with the month’s performance also highlighting the growing divide between the north and south of the country, according to the latest data from Springboard. July saw a -17% decline compared with 2019 in high streets, a -18.6%…
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Jul- 2022 -18 JulyHigh Street
Footfall drops as heatwave hits UK
Footfall across UK high streets are down -7.3% on last week as the country experiences a heatwave, according to Springboard. However, high streets in coastal towns have seen a surge of footfall, rising by 9.0%. The largest drop was seen in greater London, which was down -13% across high streets…
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8 JulySupermarkets
Asda launches £1 meal charge for children
Asda has unveiled what it calls its “strongest ever initiative” to help feed children amid the cost of living crisis, which will see children across Scotland and Northern Ireland eat for only £1 at any time of day in Asda Cafés, seven days a week, with no minimum adult spend…
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Jun- 2022 -9 JuneHigh Street
Co-op to launch new food waste reduction platform
The Co-op is set to launch a new platform which aims to help retailers reduce food waste and is currently being trialled in some of its own stores. Founding partners Co-op and Microsoft, supported by technology consultancy BJSS and Team ITG, have created the platform – named Caboodle – a…
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May- 2022 -18 MaySupermarkets
M&S chairman slams post-brexit rules for Northern Ireland
The chairman of Marks and Spencer, Archie Norman, has backed government plans to override parts of the Northern Ireland protocol, after condemning the bureaucracy involved with transporting goods across the Irish border. Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Norman said: “At the moment, wagons arriving in the Republic of Ireland have…
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Apr- 2022 -5 AprilEconomy
Retail footfall drops 22.9% across UK
Footfall fell by 22.9% compared to 2019 in the non-food sector across the UK, although footfall is up 9.9% compared to the previous month due to “unseasonably warm weather”. According to Ipsos Retail Performance, the retail sector performed the strongest at -14.9% compared to pre-Covid levels, while footfall on the…
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Mar- 2022 -29 MarchHigh Street
Footfall rises by 7.8% as weather improves
The second anniversary of the start of the first lockdown in 2020 delivered positive results, with a rise in footfall of +7.8% last week from the week before across all UK retail destinations, according to retail experts Springboard. It found increases in all three destination types; +9.8% in high streets,…
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15 MarchOnline & Digital
Annual quest to find the UK’s fastest growing online retailers begins
Despite restrictions easing, the pandemic appears to have altered our shopping habits forever. The boom in online shopping during the coronavirus pandemic has seen many of us become increasingly more comfortable shopping online, with global e-commerce jumping to $26.7trn (£20.4trn). New data from Brightpearl, a popular operating system for retailers,…
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Feb- 2022 -22 FebruaryNews
Storm Eunice curtails footfall rise
Storm Eunice “heavily impacted” footfall across the UK, with a -3.8% decline from the week before and drops in all three destination types, according to retail experts Springboard. However, it said the distortion created by the weather meant that the result between Sunday and Thursday was “wholly different from Friday…
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1 FebruaryOnline & Digital
Asos invests £14m in Belfast tech hub
Asos has announced it is investing £14m into a new tech hub in Belfast over the next three years as it continues to scale its investment in technology, creating 184 new jobs with eight permanent staff already on board. As part of the investment, Asos has announced the opening of…
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