In the latest Business Insights Report from the Liverpool BID Company, we’ve focused on two main themes: the first was to look at the changing demographic of those making up the traffic to the city; the second was to follow on from last month’s report and look at the difference in sector spend in the three post codes featured within the BID areas, particularly seeing the evolution of this spend from pre-pandemic through to last quarter. There are two main conclusions evident from this analysis: the first is that residents and commuters from the city and city region make up a larger proportion of visitors as we move away from the summer months and school holidays; the second is that Hospitality (including Accommodation) and Retail (including Clothing) are the main drivers in the recovery of spend.

You can read the full report on this page, or you can download the report at our data-hub by clicking the link below.

Liverpool city centre footfall and visitor analysis

Did people visit Liverpool city centre in November 2021?

Footfall this month fell slightly, with the monthly figure being -2.8% MoM. Given the half term at the end of October, and the consequent boost in visitor traffic, this small drop-off is both explicable and expected.

Encouragingly, the total footfall this month represented a YoY figure against the equivalent period in 2019 of -11.7%. Again, this is only slightly lower than the figure for October (-10.7%) and represents a resilient traffic trend relative to other Comparison Towns, other locations in the North and against the UK as a whole.

It is also worth noting, in this traffic discussion, the multiple days with bad weather including Storm Arwen and the unfortunate, tragic and unforeseen couple of events that occurred at the Women’s and on Church Alley in the second half of the month. Though there didn’t appear to be significant drop-offs as a consequence of these events when analyzing footfall at a daily level, it’s likely that there was some small impact on the proclivity of certain groups to travel to the city when viewed over a longer period.

Changing demographic of visitor?

We’ve seen in previous reports that the type of visitor, in terms of where they travelled from, changed over the course of the summer, with a return of those travelling from further afield (tourists / staycationers).

Below we’ve looked to see how the type of visitor has changed through the autumn months.

As you’ll see in the graph, the trend of those travelling from middle distances (11-20km, 21-30km, 31-40km and 41-50km away) has remained fairly constant across the months.

The increasing trend for the proportion of those coming from within the Liverpool City region (0-20km) mirroring the decreasing trend of those travelling from father afield (50km+) suggests a move away from tourists / staycationers and towards commuters and residents making up the majority of visitors to the centre.

Who still travels from farther afield?

This map shows the distribution of visitors coming from 50km+ to Liverpool in November 2021, and provides comparison by percentage points, against October 2021.

As seen on the last page, 23% of visitors in October still travelled from farther afield. As such, in November there were drop-offs from the high contributing areas to this tourism:

Northern Ireland: -0.9
South Scotland: -0.8
Yorkshire: -0.8
Midlands: -1.6
London & South East: -1.0

That said, these areas still contributed heavily to the total number of visitors, in November, and in the case of Northern Ireland still saw a greater proportion of people travelling than in August 2021.

The following areas saw upturns in visitors (possibly more for work / business):

Cumbria: +0.1
North Wales: +0.1

Find out more

Liverpool city centre spend analysis

Sector make-up of spend in L1 across the quarters

Below is a graph showing the Visa spend across the highest spending sectors in L1 over the selected quarters, with Q3 2020 and Q1 2020 used as benchmarks to see the development of spend in the 2021 quarters.

Most prominent areas in L1 are: High Street (Church St, Lord St, Whitechapel), Bold Street, St Johns, Clayton Square, Ropewalks and Duke Street.

The significant spending trends from the data show:

Retail & High St, Clothing, Leisure & Entertainment and Supermarkets saw gradual recoveries above the pre-pandemic levels of Q1 2020, and (likely, though we don’t have the data) to levels in Q3 2019.
Restaurants (which includes bars and pubs) saw a huge upturn in spend in Q3 2021, even compared to pre-pandemic levels, likely driven by hospitality venues on Bold St, Duke St and Seel St.
Hotel / Accommodation had a huge upturn in spend in Q3 2021, reflective of the return of tourism and staycationers.

Sector make-up of spend in L2 across the quarters

Below is a graph showing the Visa spend across the highest spending sectors in L2 over the selected quarters, with Q3 2020 and Q1 2020 used as benchmarks to see the development of spend in the 2021 quarters.

Most prominent areas in L2 are: Cavern Quarter, Metquarter, Castle Street, Dale Street and Pride Quarter.

The significant spending trends from the data show:

Retail & High St (which includes gift shops, memorabilia and specialist shops) hasn’t recovered as strongly as hospitality: total spend dropped from £2.2m in Q1 2020 to £680k in Q3 2021.
Restaurants (which includes bars and pubs) spend not only returned and exceeded pre-pandemic levels (up to £25m in Q3 2021 from £13m in Q1 2020), but also continued to be the primary driver in spend in L2: 82% of total spend in L2 in Q3 2021 came from Restaurants relative to 74% in L2 in Q3 2020.
Hotel/Accommodation saw a steady recovery back to pre-pandemic levels.

Sector make-up of spend in L3 across the quarters

Below is a graph showing the Visa spend across the highest spending sectors in L2 over the selected quarters, with Q3 2020 and Q1 2020 used as benchmarks to see the development of spend in the 2021 quarters.

Most prominent areas in L3 are: Waterfront (including Albert Dock, Pier Head etc.), St George’s Quarter and part of Knowledge Quarter.

The significant spending trends from the data show:

Supermarkets spend boomed in Q2 2021 (presumably driven by the more residential areas of L3), but has also settled above pre-pandemic levels, with spend up to £4.2m in Q3 2021 from £1.3m in Q1 2020.
Restaurants spend (which includes bars and pubs) has recovered and exceeded pre-pandemic levels, and is the consistent key driver in the economy of L3 (as with L1 and L2).
Hotel/Accommodation has also recovered and exceeded pre-pandemic levels, with spend in Q3 2021 double that of spend in Q1 2020, up £10.2m from £5.1m.

Liverpool city centre vacancy survey

In October 2021 we carried out another vacancy survey to get and understanding of the vacancy rate across the Retail & Leisure BID area. Detailed below are the findings:

Opening watch…

Alongside the vacancy data we’ve provided on page 8 of this report, please see below the predicted dates of the major new openings in the coming months:

Decathlon (Church Street): opening April 2022
Flannels (Parker Street): opening March 2022

What to be aware of in December 2021…

Covid Updates

➔ New Covid Rules in Place with Plan B: we are now in ‘Plan B’ of the Covid-19 Autumn/Winter Plan in response to the risks of the Omicron variant. Read more about what this means here. You can also read Bill Addy’s statement here and the specific guidance for hospitality businesses here.

➔ Book or manage a coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination/booster: the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, and are now available (1st, 2nd, 3rd or Booster) to most of the population. Find out how to book your vaccine here.

➔ £4bn loss predicted for hospitality sector: The UK’s hospitality sector is bracing itself for a £4bn hit in festive sales with the new ‘work from home’ directive killing off the UK’s hospitality sector this Christmas due to the reintroduction the ‘work from home’ guidance will diminish consumer confidence and widespread cancellation of bookings. Read more here.

Other News

➔ “You’re Safe Here” scheme rolls out in Liverpool: A scheme to create safe spaces in venues across the Liverpool City Region, developed in response to a spate of hate crimes against the LGBT+ community in the city, has started rolling out across the city. Fifty-three venues are now accredited with the “You’re Safe Here” mark, further training sessions will be delivered in the new year.
Read more here.

➔ Tourism Awards shortlist revealed: The shortlist for this year’s Liverpool City Region Tourism Awards has been unveiled – and they continue to recognise excellence across the City Region’s tourism and hospitality sector. Read more about the shortlist, nominate a hidden gem and find our more about the awards ceremony on 10 March 2022 here.