UK retail footfall rises as lockdown comes to end

Footfall across all retail destinations in the UK has jumped by 8.5% in the last week, from the week before, as consumers prepare for the country’s exit from lockdown.

Retail parks and high streets saw a footfall increase of 9% and 9.7%, according to data analyst Springboard.

Meanwhile, footfall in central London and regional UK cities rose by 200.5% and 209.3% respectively over the period.

Springboard cited the country’s warmer weather, particularly in Greater London, the South East and South West, as driving this rise in footfall.

However, total footfall over the Easter weekend was down 7.6% during the same four days the week before.

Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director, said: “With exceptional weather across most of the UK it was not a surprise that last week footfall rose across all retail destinations from the week before, and with the warmest weather occurring in the south it was unsurprising that this part of the UK that benefited the most.

“Footfall rose across all three destination types, but external environments inevitably benefitted more than shopping centres where the rise in footfall was a third lower than in high streets and retail parks.”

She added: “Following the anniversary of the start of Lockdown 1 in the week before, footfall last week was 1.5 times as great as it was in the same week in 2020, but still two thirds lower than in 2019.

“The Easter weekend as a whole (Friday to Monday) was disappointing with a drop in footfall from the same four days in the previous week, however, the bank holiday weekend was hampered by the cold weather on Monday. Despite this, footfall was more than double that over Easter in 2020 although still more than a half lower than over Easter in 2019.”