Footfall falls 2.8% in March

March delivered an unexpected shock for retailers as footfall across all UK retail destinations dropped by -2.8% compared with February, according to the latest data from MRI Springboard.

Springboard said it is the first month-on-month decline for March since it started publishing data in January 2009, except for 2018 (Beast from the East) and 2020 when the UK went into lockdown.

It added that shoppers have “started to rein in” on leisure-based trips, with the impact of the cost-of-living crisis creating “consumer cautiousness” – as footfall at UK high streets widened to -18.7% compared to 2019 levels.

Meanwhile, it said that inflationary pressure and interest rates lead to consumer trips now being driven by essential shopping, demonstrated by the first month where footfall dropped by -1.4% across UK high streets at the weekend.

Looking ahead, MRI Springboard forecasts that Easter Weekend footfall will be +5.1% higher than in the week before. However, footfall over Easter 2023 is still expected to be just +5.4% higher than over Easter 2022.

Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director at MRI Springboard, said: “March delivered a sharp shock to UK retail destinations with a decline in footfall of 2.8% over the month from February to March, a result that had not been anticipated following an increase in February that more than matched the result for February in previous years.

“For many consumers a period of austerity has started, with the driver of trips now being essential spending rather than experience as many consumers rein in leisure-based trips to destinations to reduce their spending.”