RETAIL footfall in the north returned to growth last month, but vacancy rates are now jumped to a two-year high, according to the latest Springboard figures.
Footfall increased by 0.5 per cent in April, making it the ninth month of growth recorded in the past year and is in contrast to an overall UK decline.
The resurgence comes after the first footfall decline in six months was reported in March.
A return to positive territory was largely driven by shopping centre traffic, with Northern Ireland the only region in the UK to report a footfall upturn (2 per cent). No change was recorded in high street traffic or that at retail parks.
Of greatest concern is the town centre vacancy rate, which grew from March's level of 14 per cent to 14.9 per cent last month. It is highest rate recorded since October 2017.
Aodhán Connolly, director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium said the upturn reported in footfall is misleading.
“While footfall, on the face of it, has shown slight growth, last year’s terrible April results provided an easy target to outperform," he said.
"The big disappointment here is the rise in vacancy rates to its highest level in two years. This is a symptom of the increasing pressures that retailers face, pressures that are being added to by a lack of an Assembly, Executive or political leadership."
In light of the challenges facing the retail industry, Mr Connolly called for the current political talks in the north to deliver progress.
"This cannot be another false start. The longer we are without a functioning Assembly, the further we fall behind our neighbours to the east and south," he said.
"Our members believe that devolved government is best for Northern Ireland PLC, but our politicians must put economics before ideology, so we can have an Executive and ministers to take the mission critical bold decisions that will allow retail reinvention and prevent retail armageddon.”
Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director at Springboard added:
“There is an obvious distortion in the year on year footfall results for April due to the early Easter in March last year. Whilst across the UK the expected bounty in April was not sufficient to deliver positive figures, in Northern Ireland the outcome was slightly more heartening."
