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Footfall across UK retail destinations declined by -7.5% last week, following a rise of +8.2% in the week before last during the school half term holiday week, according to Springboard.
The gap from the 2019 footfall level widened to -9.8% last week from -9% in the week before last indicating the drop in footfall from last week was more significant than it had been in the same week in 2019. However, the uplift from 2021 increased to +5.2% last week from +3.2% in the week before although this was the third smallest annual increase yet.
The largest drops occurred in high streets (-10.1%) and shopping centres (-7.7%) where footfall had risen most during last week. Footfall in retail parks declined from the week before by just -1.8%, however, the rise in the previous week (+4.2%) had been the most modest of the three destination types.
Retail parks were supported by rises in footfall on both the first and last days of the week (+6.2% on Sunday 30th October and +0.4% on Saturday 5th November).
Footfall in coastal and historic towns dropped by -24% and -15.6% respectively last week, following boosts in activity from trips made during the half term holiday week of +18.2% and +10.8%, and likewise in Central London footfall also declined by -13.1% from a rise of +12.4% in the week before last.
Footfall also declined broadly across the UK, with drops ranging from -3.8% in Scotland where the half term break had occurred a week earlier, to -12.5% in the South West. The only two geographies where footfall rose were Wales (+0.4%) and Northern Ireland (+7.2%).
Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard, said: “With schools returning after the half term holiday, footfall in UK retail destinations dipped noticeably last week on the back of a strong comparable in the week before last.
“The gap from the 2019 footfall level widened last week from the week before last, indicating that the drop in footfall in the week post half term this year was more severe than it had been in the same week pre-Covid. However, on a positive note, the uplift from 2021 increased last week from the week before last, reflecting that footfall remains on a path of recovery, albeit that this was the third most modest annual increase yet.”
