Retail footfall freefalls 83% over Easter weekend

Footfall across UK retail bricks-and-mortar destinations was 83.1% lower than Easter weekend last year and 14.5% lower than over the same four days in the previous week, according to the latest data from Springboard.

The data and intelligence group said that the findings show the public adhered to government lockdown guidelines and stayed at home despite the warm weekend weather.

Saturday footfall did increase by 3.7% against the week prior, driven by increases from the week before in both coastal towns and historic towns which saw an increase of 14% and 9.5%, respectively. 

However, Monday footfall tumbled 24.2% from the previous Monday, which Springboard said was aided by the cooler weather.

The data comes from the group’s latest footfall monitor and insights, which collated data covering the five weeks from 1 March 2020 to 4 April 2020, as well as Easter weekend.

Springboard said that March will “forever be remembered as the month that the UK went into lockdown” due to coronavirus, with the closure of all non-essential retail stores.  

The resulting impact on footfall was therefore an “unprecedented decline” of 41.3% over the month from March 2019. 

The first two weeks of March saw footfall decline annually by an average of just 2.9%, though the impact of the following lockdown was “immediate and enormous”. In the final three weeks the year on year drop averaged 61.5%, reaching a decline of 81.4% in the last week.

Meanwhile, the drop in footfall experienced in the third week across high streets and shopping centres didn’t occur until the fourth week in retail parks due to the onset of panic buying. 

Springboard said that retail parks will “inevitably “ continue to fare better during the lockdown, as large stores in spacious environments allow for more adequate social distancing. 

Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard, said: “It is likely that even when we are in recovery, the psychological impact of the pandemic will linger with social distancing continuing to be the new normal for some time to come.  

“If this were to be the case, retail parks and the space they offer will be a favoured destination for many.”

She added: “In the meantime, as lock down is likely to continue for some weeks yet, Britons will remember the role retail staff across grocery, pharmacy and everyday essentials stores played in March 2020 and beyond in keeping it possible for families and households to continue to shop during such troubling times.”