Brits flock to high street as Easter sun draws crowds

Footfall at UK retail destinations climbed over the Easter weekend as record-breaking temperatures saw Brits flock back to the high street.

According to data from Springboard, footfall across all retail destinations rose by 6.5% on Friday, 1.2% on Saturday and 8.4% by 12pm on Easter Monday, with that on the high street up by 19.1%, 8.8% and 16.3%, respectively, at the expense of shopping centres and retail parks.

This came as each of the four nations in the UK enjoyed their hottest Easter Monday on record, with temperatures hitting 25C at Heathrow in England, 24.2C in Kinlochewe, Scotland, 23.6C in the Welsh capital Cardiff and 21.4C in Northern Ireland's Armagh.

Diane Wehrle, Springboard's insights director, said: "Consumers clearly wanted to be outside enjoying the sun rather than visiting covered malls. Even in retail parks, where shoppers gravitate to buy garden furniture and plants, footfall declined by -2.4% on Good Friday and -1.3% on Easter Saturday from the same days last year."

Shopping centres saw footfall drops of 11.0%, 11.8% and 1.4% over the weekend, though retail parks did manage a small rise of 1.9% on Monday.

High street footfall was also up by 16.5% on Sunday as all major stores were closed for the holiday, leaving retail parks and shopping centres unable to compete.

The overall growth was in contrast to the same weekend last year, where wind and rain resulted in footfall at UK retail destinations declining by -2.4% on Good Friday, -3% on Easter Saturday and -9.8% by 12pm on Easter Monday.

In the midst of a difficult period for high street retailers, the weekend's strong showing at the shops will likely be seen as encouraging, though Springboard warned just last week that the country is showing signs of a new “no splurge” culture, with shoppers keen to visit stores, but reluctant to make purchases.