Footfall at UK retail destinations fell last week in the run-up to the half-term holiday and as workers’ return to the office begins to slow, according to data released on Monday by retail analyst Springboard.
Footfall across retail destinations declined 1.5%, with high streets seeing the biggest fall, at 3.6%, while footfall at retail parks and shopping centres rose 0.9% and 0.4%, respectively.
Springboard said the fall in footfall at high streets was universal, spanning all UK geographies, but the most modest drop was seen in the Greater London region.
Footfall in Central London dropped 1.2%. Springboard’s ‘Back to the Office’ benchmark, which tracks areas in Central London dominated by offices rather than retail, declined by 4.2%. Regional cities outside the capital experienced a 5.1% retreat in footfall, suggesting the drift back to the office has slowed, potentially due to rising Covid cases, Springboard said.
Diane Wehrle, Insights Director at Springboard said: “Footfall declined across UK retail destinations last week, which was not an unexpected result given that many schools have their half term holiday this week and a dip in activity in the week before the school break is a long term trend as shopping trips are deferred. Our insight shows that in five of the six years between 2014 and 2019 footfall declined from the week before in the week preceding the October school half term break.
“High streets drove the drop in footfall last week, whilst it rose marginally in retail parks and shopping centres. It seems that the drift back to the office has also slowed with an even larger drop in regional cities outside of the capital, and in Springboard’s ‘Back to the Office’ benchmark (those parts of Central London dominated by offices rather than retail). On a positive note, the drop in footfall in Central London as a whole was a third of that across UK high streets, suggesting that more visits are being made into the capital for retail and leisure purposes.”
