UK retail footfall fell in the week ended 5 November as schools returned from the half-term break.
According to retail experts Springboard, UK footfall fell 7.5% last week, following a rise of 8.2% in the week prior, as footfall dropped 10.1% on high streets, 7.7% in shopping centres, and 1.8% in retail parks.
Footfall declined 3.8% in Scotland and 12.5% in the South West, with Wales and Northern Ireland being the only places to see footfall increase – up 0.4% and 7.2%, respectively.
While the 2019 footfall gap widened to -9.8% from -9% in the week before, the 2021 uplift increased from 3.2% to 5.2%.
Springboard’s Diane Wehrle said: “With schools returning after the half-term holiday, footfall in UK retail destinations dipped noticeably last week on the back of a strong comparable in the week before last.
“Inevitably, the types of towns that recorded the greatest increases in footfall in the week before last – coastal and historic towns and Central London – all recorded the greatest drops last week. At a broader geographic level, footfall declined in all but two areas of the UK, with double-digit drops in the South East and the South West.”
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
