Footfall jumps 7.9% during Black Friday

Black Friday footfall jumped by 7.9% against the week previous across all UK retail destinations, providing retailers with a much needed boost during the Golden Quarter, according to the latest figures from MRI Software. 

Much of the uplift was driven by Black Friday itself, with destinations benefiting from increased footfall throughout the evening period.

Footfall across all retail destinations was 2% higher than 2022, however it was still 12.6% lower compared with 2019 levels, with shopping centres and retail parks seeing the gap lowering to 20.4% and 5.7% respectively. The gap suggests that pre-pandemic footfall figures may never be fully regained for events such as Black Friday as consumers continue to shift towards online shopping. 

High streets led the charge with 10% rise in footfall followed by shopping centres with 7.7% and retail parks with 3.5%. This suggests that many town centres which have invested in festive decorations and events are attracting visitors to their locations. 

This performance, compared with 2022, is much stronger as footfall rose week over week by only 3.2% for the same week last year.

According to the latest insights, high streets stood out with an average rise of 13.1% from Sunday to Monday. This trend dipped mid-week but soon lifted as Black Friday drew near with a week-on-week rise averaging 9.9% from Thursday to Saturday. 

Much of this activity was derived from the early evening period where footfall rose by 14.4% from the week before, likely attributed to people attending many festive events taking place across the country after work.

Central London and large city centres fared well last week from the week before with rises of 16.4% and 10.8% respectively. Historic towns, which also offer festive markets, also stood out last week with a rise of 13.4% from the week before. Regionally footfall rose across the country, with the South West (+10.7%), Scotland (+10.3%) and Wales (+9.6%) the clear winners.

Jenni Matthews, marketing and insights director at MRI Software, said: “All three destination types – high streets, shopping centres and retail parks – saw consistent rises in footfall throughout the week. Shopping centres led the charge on Black Friday witnessing an increase in activity that was double that of the entire week. High streets performed much better than forecasted indicating the attractions put on by many town centres are serving their purpose in enticing visitors. 

“Festive events in cities and towns, alongside HMV’s return to Oxford Street, likely played a role in these numbers as consumers looked to make the most of the day and create memorable experiences with loved ones. For many, payday will have fallen on Friday – potentially the final one before Christmas – therefore the Black Friday sales provided the perfect opportunity to snap up those festive bargains.”