Retail expert Springboard has revealed that footfall rose by an average of +11.3% across UK retail destinations over the period from Monday to Thursday in the run up to the late May bank holiday weekend. Footfall has risen on a week on week basis on each of the past seven days, which is the longest sustained period of footfall increase since the lock down started on 23 March.
Week on week % change in footfall May 2020 | |||||
Mon 18 May | Tue 19 May | Wed 20 May | Thu 21 May | Average Mon to Thurs | |
UK High Streets | 17.5% | 13.1% | 24.9% | 8.3% | 15.9% |
UK Retail Parks | 7.9% | 10.9% | 5.4% | 5.8% | 7.5% |
UK Shopping Centres | 7.8% | 5.5% | 6.5% | 2.7% | 5.7% |
UK Coastal Towns | 23.1% | 14.3% | 22.1% | 14.8% | 18.6% |
UK Historic Towns | 16.9% | 16.2% | 27.5% | 9.6% | 17.6% |
All UK Retail Destinations | 12.8% | 10.7% | 15.7% | 6.3% | 11.3% |
Source: Springboard
Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard commented: “Since lock down began, footfall in retail parks has dropped by much less than in high streets and shopping centres as people bought provisions to stay home; the fact that high streets are now experiencing an greater increase in footfall reflects the fact that people are leaving their homes more since the easing of lock down restrictions. With warm weather forecast over the bank holiday weekend, we anticipate that there will continue to be a rise in footfall in high streets and destination towns.”