Footfall surges 18.6% on Good Friday

Good Friday footfall (up to 5pm) has provided a welcome boost to retailers as it surged by 18.6% compared with the previous week, according to a new report by Springboard.

The footfall in high streets was 26% higher than the previous Friday by 5pm and 8.5% higher than the week before in shopping centres.

Footfall in retail parks was steady all day with an increase from the week before of 12.1% up to 12pm and 13.5% up to 5pm.

Springboard said that these results are a continuation of “strong activity” earlier in the week when there was an average week on week increase in footfall of 17.9% in all UK destinations between Sunday and Thursday.

Springboard also claimed that whilst footfall was 26% higher that the previous week across all high streets, in towns that are attractive to visitors the increase from the week before was even greater.

London attracted the most visitors, with footfall 34.1% higher than the week before across Central London. Footfall in city centres elsewhere in the UK also rose by 18.5%.

The increase in shopping activity varied across the UK, from a rise of 10.7% in the North and Yorkshire to 27.4% in Greater London, 25.6% in the South West, 23.6% in the East, and 23.1% in Wales

Diane Wehrle, insights director at MRI Springboard said: “On the first day of the Easter bank holiday weekend, footfall in UK retail destinations exceeded all expectations, with a rise of 18.6% from the previous Friday and 26% in high streets.

“The day started slowly with footfall just 4.8% higher than the previous Friday over the period up to 12pm. The increase of 18.6% from the week before was nearly double the 10.3% week on week increase forecast for Good Friday two weeks before Easter.”