‘Bolt factor’ boosts footfall at Westfield Stratford City
Westfield Stratford City has put in a strong performance in August following the return of athletics to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Stadium for the IAAF World Championships.
The shopping centre attracted 1.2 million visitors last week to mark the highest footfall week since the London 2012 Olympics.
As Westfield Stratford City reprised its role as “gateway to the games”, visitors were up 29% year-on-year over the 10 day event.
Westfield Stratford City broke UK footfall records when it attracted 47 million people in its first year – nine million during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It set another British best last September when figures revealed it had drawn 220 million visitors in its first five years with retail sales of £5 billion.
Myf Ryan, chief marketing officer at Westfield UK/Europe, said: “We’ve seen a spike in footfall over the duration of yet another fantastic sporting event achieving our highest footfall since the Olympics. During the Olympic Year in 2012 Westfield Stratford City attracted 47 million visitors however now just five years on, Westfield Stratford City every year attracts over 47 million shoppers, making it the number one shopping centre in the UK.”
The centre is home to some 30 ‘UK first’ stores and concepts for local and international retailers such as Victoria’s Secret, Stradivarius, Smiggle and an Ikea small format. New wins in the past 12 months include the opening of Swedish fashion brand H&M’s largest ever UK store in May 2017.
