// ONS says 53% of workers travelled to their workplace at least once in the week ending March 14
// This is the highest figure since June last year
// The week prior, 48% of people travelled to work and there were increases in earlier weeks due to the Covid vaccine rollout
More than half of workers around the UK travelled to their workplaces last week, igniting hopes for city centre retail footfall after being battered by the stay at home orders and lockdowns.
According to statistics from the ONS, 53 per cent of workers travelled to their workplace at least once in the week ending March 14.
This marks the highest figure last June, and follows the 48 per cent figure recorded in the previous week as well as earlier increases in prior weeks due to the fast rollout of the Covid vaccine in recent months.
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The ONS said the biggest catalyst for the return to workplaces was the reopening of schools, with schools in England opening their doors again on March 8.
The news comes after Springboard’s latest weekly football data from earlier this week showed that footfall in central London remained down almost 80 per cent year-on-year, while regional cities were down nearly 74 per cent, and market towns were down over 53 per cent.
However, overall footfall around the all of UK’s retail sites was up seven per cent on a week-on-week basis – and this could be linked to the rise in people travelling to work.
While Springboard said its figures were still heavily depressed compared to last year, last week’s increase marked the seventh time that weekly footfall grew in eight consecutive weeks.
Non-essential stores around the UK remain shut due to current lockdown measures, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirming last month that they would reopen on April 12 at the earliest – at least in England.
In Wales, non-essential retail can gradually reopen from March 22, although most will remain shut and will reopen on April 12 – the same as England.
Meanwhile in Scotland, some additional non-essential shops such as garden centres and homeware stores, plus non-essential click-and-collect services, can start to reopen open from April 5. But most non-essential retailers will remain closed until April 26.
As for Northern Ireland, from April 1 click-and-collect purchases will be allowed from garden centres and plant nurseries before being extended to all non-essential click-and-collect from April 12.
Unlike the other UK nations though, Northern Ireland said its lockdown exit would be driven by data, and as a result has not yet provided indicative dates of when non-essential shops can reopen.
The first UK-wide lockdown was implemented on March 23 last year and lasted about three months.
In response to the second wave of the pandemic, second lockdowns were implemented at differing times across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland during autumn before the current restrictions came in place after Christmas.
With reopening now just weeks away and plans for a full reopening by June – including nightlife and concert venues – experts believe the UK high street has a “strong future” but will look different amid a shift in what customers look for from the shopping experience.
Many businesses have already announced that their staff would not be required to return to office premises until much later this year, while others are shifting to flexible arrangement that will see staff working from home one or more days a week.
Nonetheless, property developers and commercial landlords are anticipating a surge in demand for office space after lockdown, and retailers such as John Lewis, M&S and Westfield have plans to convert parts of their flagship sites into offices.
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