UK retail footfall up 45% last week
New figures have shown that footfall across UK retail locations increased by 45% last week from the previous seven day period as non-essential stores in England reopened following the three month Covid-19 lockdown.
Looking at the respective nations, footfall rose by 46.7% in England and by 8.5% and 11.5% respectively in Wales and Scotland.
The data from retail footfall specialist Springboard has also revealed that there was a significant rise in people visiting shops from the week before on every day of the week.
Footfall climbed by 47.5% in UK high streets and by 45% in shopping centres. The uplifts were nearly double the 27.1% increase seen in retail parks where food and homeware stores continued to trade during lockdown.
London’s West End shopping district also benefited from more visitors with footfall rising by 55.9%, although the number was 80.8% down on the corresponding week last year..
Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard, said: “The opening of non-essential retail in England on Monday 15 June had a substantial impact on footfall across all retail destinations. The overall result for the UK was subdued by Scotland and Wales where retail reopening is yet to happen. We anticipate an additional uplift to come when retail in these areas of the UK also reopens and the hospitality and entertainment industry is given the green light to resume trading in the coming weeks.”
