Footfall remains static due to variable weather

Footfall in the UK remained virtually unchanged over the past week due to variable weather conditions across the country, according to data analysts Springboard.

For the week beginning 20 June 2021, week-on-week footfall only fell by 0.2%, which represents a 49.3% rise from the same period last year and a 25.3% drop from figures from 2019.

Retail parks posted a 2.0% drop, with high streets and shopping centres recorded rises of 0.2% and 0.6% over the period respectively.

Footfall in central London saw a 9% rise in footfall, while regional cities in other parts of the country reported a 0.9% decline.

Furthermore, market towns reported a 2.5% drop in footfall, while coastal towns fell by 6.8%.

Diane Wehrle, Springboard’s marketing and insights director, said: “Variable weather meant that footfall across UK retail destinations as a whole last week remained virtually level with the week before, albeit there were slight variations between urban locations of high streets and shopping centres where footfall rose marginally, and retail parks where there was a slight decline in activity.

“Footfall shifted from day to day, but overall the first part of the week from Sunday to Tuesday was more heavily impacted than the remaining four days from Wednesday to Saturday.”

She added: “Also geographically results varied, with a rise in footfall in four areas of the UK and drops in footfall in the remaining six areas. On the plus side, it seems that the appeal of larger city centres over smaller high streets rebounded last week, following shifts the other way in the previous two weeks.

“The lack of uplift in footfall on a week on week basis means that the gap from 2019 widened for the third consecutive week, although footfall remained noticeably higher than in the same week in 2020 which was the second week of trading following the lifting of Lockdown 1.”