LONDON (Reuters – The December 2018 shopper figures in Britain fell to 18.6%, compared to the November drop of 14.5%. This is due to increased anxiety among consumers about Omicron’s spread.

Springboard Research stated that its data from November 28 through January 2 revealed that shopper footfall decreased from 2019. This was before the pandemic affected trading. It showed that shoppers were less likely to shop on high streets and in shopping centers, while they increased by 24.1% in malls, and only 22.2% in high street. Retail parks saw a 4.9% drop.

“The natural surge in shoppers’ activity, which is usually seen in the days leading up to Christmas, did not occur due to a combination of consumers’ nerves around infection and the risk that they might miss Christmas, household isolation due to illness and the introduction of work from home guidance (guidance),” said Diane Wehrle of Springboard.

According to the researcher, the gap between 2019 and 2020 narrowed to 13.8% in week four (week beginning December 19), as UK retailers made use of six trading days to make the most of Christmas Day.

According to the report, the greatest challenge facing the retail industry in the coming weeks will be working from home guidance. This is combined with increased staff shortages caused by COVID-19 isolation rules as well as the “great returns” on goods bought over Christmas.

On Dec. 21, data showed that British retail sales declined sharply during the first half December, as shoppers were concerned about Omicron.

Data published Wednesday however showed that UK supermarkets did well.