Bank Holiday footfall surges 50% as lockdown eased

High street footfall surged 49% over bank holiday Monday against Easter Monday, according to the latest figures from Springboard.

Footfall across retail parks increased by 42% on Saturday compared with Easter Saturday, whilst footfall across all UK retail destinations on both Saturday and Monday was a third higher than the same trading days over the Easter weekend.

The data group said that these latest figures suggest a “significant pent up demand” amongst consumers, and added that the proposed 15 June reopening of shops could not “come soon enough”. 

Springboard also said that the warm weather played a “significant role in bolstering footfall”, with destination towns experiencing a higher footfall compared with the Easter weekend. 

Bank holiday Monday footfall across coastal towns was 62% higher than on Easter Monday, for example, while historic towns saw a 59% increase in visitors. 

England saw the highest rise in footfall between both bank holidays in light of eased travel restrictions, with footfall on Saturday over 30% higher than Easter Saturday in all regions. 

Monday’s footfall was 30% higher than across the whole of the UK, however. 

Diane Wehrle, Springboard’s insights director, said: “We anticipate that once stores open on 15 June – despite the rise in online shopping that has been recorded – the evident pent up demand to go out amongst consumers will absolutely translate into footfall. 

“However an anticipated spending spike could possibly be short lived, as consumers will be cautious and looking at reigning in their spend due to ongoing financial uncertainty in many UK households.” 

She added: “Additionally the safety of shoppers and workers will be paramount as announced yesterday by the Prime Minster, so retailers over the coming weeks will need to be working hard to ensure that customer occupancy measures in stores and destinations are in place and carefully managed so that social distancing measures can be implemented successfully.”