Retail footfall down 0.7% last week
UK retail footfall edged down 0.7% last week from the week before, although high streets saw the number of visitors rise by the same percentage.
The decline was a result of shopping centres and retail parks seeing footfall drop by 2.3% and 1.8% respectively.
The figures from retail specialist Springboard also reveal that the gap from the 2019 footfall level widened to -13.5% from -9.3% in the week before, in part due to a strong week-on-week performance in the corresponding seven-day period in 2019 when footfall rose by 4.3%.
Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard, said: “Footfall in UK retail destinations fell back a little last week, resulting in a widening of the gap from the 2019 footfall level from what we hoped was a turning point the week before last when the gap from 2019 narrowed to below -10%.
“Footfall also dropped across all town types other than outer London and market towns, initially suggesting that the return to the office had slowed as a greater resilience in these town types are synonymous with home working.”
However, there were signs that London workers are returning to the office following a rise of 4.4% in Springboard’s Central London ‘Back to the Office’ benchmark. This came despite activity in Central London and regional cities outside the capital declining by 0.4% and 3.1% respectively.
