Early May bank holiday provides footfall boost
However, the UK saw declines in footfall in coastal and historic towns and in central London as Easter trips came to an end last week
The impact of two bank holidays has led to an uplift in footfall over the last week of April, up 29.5% year-on-year, rising 0.7% week-on-week.
According to Springboard, the beginning of the week was still influenced by Easter, due to low comparables in the week before last on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.
At the end of the week, footfall improved “significantly” from the week before due to the early May bank holiday.
As Easter trips came to an end last week, the UK saw declines in footfall in coastal and historic towns and in central London, although footfall in market towns and outer London rose.
Overall, footfall levels are still down 17.5% compared to pre-Covid levels in 2019. During the weekdays, footfall was lower than the week before across all three destination types, although there were larger drops in high streets and shopping centres than in retail parks.
However, Springboard said the data indicates that a greater number of employees are returning to their offices, with an increase in footfall last week in regional city centres around the UK.
