Retail footfall boosted by spring sunshine and late Easter
UK retail footfall received a welcome boost in April from this year’s late Easter and warm weather.
According to figures from the British Retail Consortium, total footfall increased by 7.2% year-on-year in April from -5.4% in March.
Subscribe to TRBWhile high street footfall rose by 5.3%, retail park and shopping centre footfall climbed by 7.5% and 5.6% respectively.
Footfall increased year-on-year across all nations. This included a 6.7% uplift in England, 6.9% in Scotland, 13.6 % in Wales, and 14.3% in Northern Ireland.
However, the British Retail Consortium noted that when March and April were combined to cancel out any impact of Easter, footfall only rose by 0.2%.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “A late Easter and some welcome rays of sunshine encouraged shoppers to head out to their local shopping destinations in April.
“Adjusting for the late fall of Easter this year, footfall across March and April showed a small but positive trend, with retail parks continuing to perform the strongest out of all locations.
This reflected the unseasonally warm and bright weather right across the UK. In England, the North East saw particularly strong growth in footfall, with Manchester and Liverpool both recording double-digit improvements in footfall.
“Retailers will be hoping this momentum continues into the summer months.”
