Shopper footfall rallied in January compared with the disappointing Christmas but remained down on a year earlier, figures show.

Although shopper visits across the UK as a whole were down 0.6% on last January, this was an improvement on the 2.9% decline seen in December, according to British Retail Consortium (BRC)-Sensormatic data.

High street visits fell by a steeper 1.9% year-on-year in January, down from the 0.9% drop seen in December, while shopping centre footfall fell by 0.8% in January but improved from the 5.1% plunge over Christmas.

The best performing cities were in the north, where shopper traffic was hit badly by severe storms last year, and retail parks also recorded positive growth as customers made the most of free parking to shop in person during the January sales.

Scotland recorded the strongest year-on-year growth in footfall, up 5.1%, with Northern Ireland also seeing significant growth of 3.8%.

By contrast, footfall fell across the rest of the UK – by 1.4% in England and 2.8% in Wales.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “Although footfall edged down in January compared to a year earlier, it was much better than the disappointing Christmas period.

“An uptick in consumer confidence and possible signs of a footfall recovery offer some cautious optimism for some spring-like green shoots.”

Andy Sumpter from Sensormatic said: “January offered a welcome reset for UK retail, with footfall recording its best performance in five months.

“Some of this uplift will have been driven by savvier spending behaviours, as consumers took advantage of new year promotions and sought out value after a stretched festive period.

“Storm Goretti, however, put a dampener on activity in parts of the month, disrupting travel and suppressing visits — a reminder that weather can play an outsized role in shaping shopper behaviour.”