// UK footfall rose 8.5% last week as the end of lockdown nears
// High street and retail park footfall rose 9% and 9.7% respectively
// Shopping centre footfall rose 6.3%
UK footfall across retail destinations has increased by 8.5 per cent last week from the week before as shoppers anticipate the end of lockdown.
High streets and retail parks saw footfall increase by nine per cent and 9.7 per cent respectively but the rise of 6.3 per cent in shopping centres was a third lower as shoppers gravitated to external environments, Springboard found.
Over the Easter weekend as a whole, footfall was 7.6 per cent lower than over the same four days in the week before.
READ MORE: Footfall rises on 1 year anniversary of lockdown, but still 58% down on 2019
Footfall rose by 200.5 per cent in central London and 209.3 per cent in regional cities.
The warmer temperatures in the south of the UK meant that the rise in footfall in Greater London and the South East and South West averaged 10.8 per cent versus an average of 6.7 per cent elsewhere.
Footfall last week was 68.1 per cent higher than in the same week in 2020, but still 57.3 per cent lower than in 2019.
“With exceptional weather across most of the UK it was not a surprise that last week footfall rose across all retail destinations from the week before, and with the warmest weather occurring in the south it was unsurprising that this part of the UK that benefited the most,” Springboard insights director Diane Wehrle said.
“Footfall rose across all three destination types, but external environments inevitably benefitted more than shopping centres where the rise in footfall was a third lower than in high streets and retail parks.
“Following the anniversary of the start of Lockdown 1 in the week before, footfall last week was 1.5 times as great as it was in the same week in 2020, but still two thirds lower than in 2019.
“The Easter weekend was a week earlier than in 2020, with Good Friday and Easter Saturday overlapping the end of the week.
“The Easter weekend as a whole (Friday to Monday) was disappointing with a drop in footfall from the same four days in the previous week, however, the bank holiday weekend was hampered by the cold weather on Monday.
“Despite this, footfall was more than double that over Easter in 2020 although still more than a half lower than over Easter in 2019.”
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