Retail footfall in Republic up as shoppers shun trips across border

VISITORS to shopping centres in Ireland increased for the first time in two years in February and March.

Shoppers are starting to shun stores in Northern Ireland, according to new figures, which show that for the first three months of this year footfall fell by almost 6% compared with the same period last year.

The Experian national footfall index shows that although year-on-year footfall fell by 1.6% in the Republic in January, retailers received an encouraging boost as shopper visits to high streets and shopping centres increased in February and again in March by 1% and 0.4% respectively.