// Footfall rises across all retail despite tightened Covid-19 measures in the UK
// High streets saw the biggest numbers, while retail parks recorded the lowest
// Despite the recovery, footfall remains 56.1% below last year’s numbers
New research has shown that footfall across all retail destinations in the UK has risen in the last week despite new Covid-19 restrictions put in place.
Footfall across all retail destinations rose by 2.4 per cent last week from the week before, Springboard found.
High streets saw a rise in footfall of 5.2 per cent, while shopping centre footfall declined by 0.8 per cent and retail parks by 0.3 per cent.
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Despite the improved performance of Central London last week, footfall remains 56.1 per cent lower than last year, versus 45.3 per cent lower in regional cities and 22.6 per cent lower in market towns.
This week was the first full week of the ‘rule of six’ being implemented by the government as Covid-19 infections continue to rise.
However, Springboard said the new measures have failed to deter consumers from visiting retail destinations.
The range of results across the different types of high street suggests that the UK made the most of the warm weekend weather.
Central London footfall rose by six per cent, 7.3 per cent in historic towns and by 4.4 per cent in coastal towns.
However, the gap from last year widened slightly further with a year on year decline in footfall of 28.7 per cent versus 27.5 per cent in the week before.
“After the first week of the ‘rule of six’, retail footfall bounced back after last week’s first decrease in footfall since mid-April,” Springboard insights director Diane Wehrle said.
“However, unlike last year when footfall also rose in this week, the increase in footfall was wholly driven by high streets whilst footfall in both retail parks and shopping centres declined from the week before.
“The fact that Central London recorded the second highest uplift of any high street type after historic town centres whilst the rise in footfall in market towns was the most modest, suggests that consumers were making the most of the last days of summer to travel further afield to enjoy the great weather.”
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