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Footfall across UK retail destinations increased by 6.6% last week from the week before, according to the latest data from Springboard.
Last week, Springboard found that footfall was 68.1% higher than in the same week in 2020, but remained 57.3% lower than in the same week period for 2019.
Footfall in high streets continued its steady increase, rising by 6.6% from the week before with the biggest difference being seen in retail parks and shopping centres.
Two weeks ago retail parks declined in footfall by 4.4%, yet last week they saw a 9% increase as non-essential retail opened up. Footfall in shopping centres also rose 4.3% from a drop of 2.3% two weeks ago.
Springboard has predicted that footfall will increase noticeably in the week ahead, possibly by as much as 15%. Once retail reopens on 12 April, Springboard anticipates that footfall will rise by around 48% from the week before, with a further rise of around 10% in the week following.
Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard said: “Following the anniversary of the start of the lockdown on Monday 22nd March, footfall across UK retail destinations last week was higher than it was in the same week in 2020 but still much lower than in the same week in 2019, before the pandemic.
“However, the uplift was much larger last week, and this was primarily a result of far greater footfall in retail parks and shopping centres; the rise in retail parks most likely due to shoppers upgrading their gardens in advance of the relaxation of restrictions this week.”
