Management at Northern Ireland Shopping Centre has reported a 12% year on year rise in footfall during December 2024

Management at CastleCourt Shopping Centre has reported a 12% year on year rise in footfall during December 2024, with some stores reporting a boost in sales of up 30%.

Peak days of the increased footfall included Friday, December 20, Saturday 21 and Monday 23, with footfall averaging up 20% on the same days in 2023, surpassing pre-covid figures.

The figures released by the Centre show a positive performance for the end of the so-called ‘Golden Quarter’, in light of recent reports of a 7.2% decline of shopper footfall in Belfast in December 2024.

Leona Barr, centre manager at CastleCourt Shopping Centre said the whole team worked hard to continue to make CastleCourt a top destination for city centre shopping last year: “Those final shopping days before Christmas are crucial for our stores and leisure outlets, and after December 2023’s transport strikes we were hopeful for higher footfall and sales throughout the centre.

"However, the month brought widely reported traffic congestion throughout Belfast city centre to contend with, so we are delighted to still have such positive results to share.

“On the whole, 2024 was a fantastic year, which saw our shopping centre become even more of an attraction. We welcomed TK Maxx back into the Centre, and brought well-known national and local brands into new units, such as Gregg’s and Jacqueline Rooney Art’s first city centre gallery.

“Attracting such names and brands to our Centre is crucial for our business and the wider Belfast city centre, giving our shoppers continued choice and confidence in their visit to CastleCourt.”

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In 2024, CastleCourt’s landlord Wirefox invested significantly in attracting new tenants to the centre, creating over 100 new jobs.

Looking towards the coming year, Leona says it will be another year of firsts for the mall; “Our first new opening for 2025 will be Northern Ireland’s first ever standalone Vanilla store, a popular fashion range currently only available at New Look, which will open in the spring.

“We look forward to revealing more big names in the near future.”