According to data from Springboard, the second week of June saw a decline in footfall numbers across the UK, indicating a dip in shopper activity. In contrast to the previous week, footfall across all retail destinations experienced a fall of 6.7%. This is a significant change from the 11.6% increase seen in the week before. Furthermore, the numbers from last week remained 18.4% below the levels recorded in 2019.
All three types of retail destinations witnessed a decrease in footfall. High streets saw a decline of 9%, losing approximately half of the gain made in the previous week. Shopping centres experienced a drop of 7.5% after a notable rise of 8.7% in the week prior. Retail parks saw a smaller decrease of 0.9%, which was around a third of the previous week’s gain.
The decline in footfall was evident across all types of high streets, with coastal and historic towns experiencing the greatest decrease of 19%, followed by regional city centres with a decline of 13.4%. However, market towns and outer London fared slightly better with smaller declines of just 2% and 2.6% respectively.
Diane Wehrle, the Insights director at Springboard, commented on the situation, attributing the decrease in footfall to post-Bank Holiday blues. However, she pointed out that the gains made in the previous week helped narrow the gap in footfall from 2019. In fact, the current numbers are narrower than any other point since the start of the pandemic, apart from last week.
Looking ahead, Wehrle anticipates that footfall is unlikely to significantly strengthen over the next four weeks, especially with the potential delay of lifting restrictions for up to a month. However, she expects a notable boost in footfall in the second half of July as the school summer break begins, coinciding with that period.
Useful links:
– Springboard: Providing data and insights on footfall and consumer behavior in the UK.
– Retail Gazette: A leading source of news and insights for the retail industry.
