UK retail footfall continues to improve
New figures have shown that footfall in UK retail destinations rose by 4.4% last week from the previous seven days.
Data from retail specialist Springboard shows that footfall climbed by 4% in England and by 6.4% in Scotland. However, Northern Ireland and Wales fared better with respective increases of 9.4% and 8.7% although the wearing of face coverings is not mandatory in the nations’ stores.
On Friday and Saturday, the first two days when face coverings were mandatory in shops in England, footfall in retail destinations declined by an average of 1.7%. Springboard found that England was the only nation where footfall dropped on those two days.
Meanwhile, footfall in UK high streets, retail parks and shopping centres increased by 5.2%, 2.4% and 4.8% respectively in the week.
The figures also show that the weekly performance on an annual basis is continuing to improve with footfall across all retail destinations 38.4% lower than in the same week in 2019. This compares to a decline of 40.2% in the week before last.
Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard, said: “Last week delivered another first – the first time that wearing a face covering became mandatory in retail stores and enclosed destinations in England. The first few days of the latest government guidelines has not yet delivered conclusive evidence of its impact on activity in bricks-and-mortar destinations, however it is positive news for retailers that the annual performance is continuing to improve.”
Photo by Georgia Hawkins
