UK weekly retail footfall drops by 1.2%

Retail footfall in the UK has dropped by 1.2% in the last week from the previous seven days, according to recent figures released by Springboard.

This continues a growing trend of decreasing footfall figures, with the prior week clocking in a decline of 3.1%

Springboard’s data revealed the majority of last week’s decline was driven by high streets, with footfall dropping by 3%.

England registered the smallest decline with 0.9%, while Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland had respective drops of 2.7%, 3.8% and 12.2%.

Diane Wehrle, Springboard’s insights director, said: “The range of additional restrictions that came into effect at the end of last week have not yet had a noticeable impact on footfall in retail destinations generally across the UK. 

“However, with the exception of Wales which entered a fire break for 17 days, retail stores are continuing to trade which together with the fact that the restrictions commenced on Saturday – the last day of the week period – mitigated the impact on the week as a whole.”

She added: “However, in different parts of the UK the situation was more nuanced, with far greater declines in footfall in the devolved nations than in England, and differences in performance from nation to nation reflecting the introduction of restrictions.”