Shoppers are spending more money this year at Central Milton Keynes, despite national slump in retail

MK city centre has announced a retail spend boost, bucking the national trend.

MyMiltonKeynes, the centre’s Business Improvement District (BID) reports sales increased in March and are showing a “robust” 5.4% year-on-year increase,

The boost is driven by a rise in customer numbers, they say.

Their scrutiny collected captured in-store debit card spending throughout centre:mk and Midsummer Place. It showed the monthly retail expenditure in March 2024 reached £30.9 million - up from £29.2 million during the same period last year.

Year-to-date figures further illustrate a growth of 1.6%.

MK’s performance stands in contrast to the national trend, which has witnessed a decline in March 2024 sales of 5.4%, with year-to-date sales down by 1.8%.

Customer numbers reached 373,000 in March, a 9% increase on the previous year.

Notably, over half (53.1%) of sales originated from individuals outside the borough of Milton Keynes, an uplift of 2.2% from last year.

While the fashion sector led in terms of total sales, accounting for 30% of the overall figure, significant increases were observed in health and beauty, grocery, food and drink sectors. These boasting year-on-year growth rates of 23.1%, 18.5%, and 9.8% respectively.

Jill Farnsworth, Chief Executive of MyMiltonKeynes, said: “A key highlight of Milton Keynes’ success story is thesignificant uptick in foot traffic, particularly from outside the local area, reflecting the city’s undeniable appeal as a premier retail destination.

“With over 200 retailers, a great mix of restaurants, cafes and bars, and every leisure activity you could possibly wish for – all easily accessible on foot, by car and train – it is not surprising people choose to spend here.”

She added: “As consumer confidence grows, we look forward to continued growth for city centre businesses.”

To obtain the information, MyMiltonKeynes collaborated with Beauclair, which records offline transactions from over 11 million debit card accounts, geo-tagging each transaction to track merchant location and retail sector.

MyMiltonKeynes is the operating name of the Milton Keynes Business Improvement District, dedicated to working with businesses to make MK City Centre a vibrant, exciting and successful place to have a business, and an attractive, clean, safe, enjoyable destination for everyone.