SHOPPER numbers in the north's town centres and shopping malls dipped in February in what analysts said was "further evidence of the volatile nature of the retail".
And with shopkeepers facing the prospect of rates rises, and many having to pay their employees more because of the introduction of the national living wage, the sector is facing trying times.
Figures from monitoring firm Springboard show that in February footfall numbers in Northern Ireland were 5.1 per cent lower than a year ago, worse than the 1.7 per cent rise in January and the deepest decline since last November.
It is also significantly below the three-month average rate of -1.5 per cent.
And it made Northern Ireland the worst-performing region in the UK, where year-on-year footfall was down just 1.1 per cent.
It prompted Aodhán Connolly from the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium to demand that policy makers do more to support retailers to allow them to continue to invest and play a part in a strong recovery.
He said: “It's time for government to realise that our sector needs their support if we are to continue to invest, create and sustain jobs and grow the supply chain.
"We need the Executive to recognise the cumulative burden faced by retailers in areas as diverse as business rates, the National Living Wage and the introduction of the apprenticeship levy.”
Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director at Springboard, said: “Footfall in Northern Ireland is typified by volatility, with swings from month to month, reflected in a drop in high street footfall of 5.5 per cent in February compared with a rise of 2.6 per cent in January.
"However in high streets it has also been relatively resilient, with an overall trend since January 2015 that has been more favourable than the UK as a whole."
She added: “The drop in footfall again last month is consistent with long term underlying trends identified from tracking activity across destination types, geographies and time periods. Visits are becoming increasingly focused out of town and in the early evening, with footfall after 5pm rising since January 2014 whilst dropping during the daytime period.
"The '5pm to 8pm social' period are becoming important trading hours with spend focussed towards hospitality and leisure, and destinations with a buoyant restaurant offer providing the right environment and price points make out of home dining and socialising easy, attractive and affordable."
