UK footfall rises fourfold - Springboard

Footfall across the UK rose fourfold last week as the post-Covid recovery continued, according to data released on Monday by retail analysts Springboard.

Footfall across all retail destinations increased 4.1% last week from the week before, when it rose 0.8%. In the same week last year, footfall was up 1.8%. Footfall pushed up 6.8% in Greater London and 7.1% in the South East, with all three destinations types seeing a rise.

There was a 7.1% increase in footfall at shopping centres, while high streets and retail parks saw a 3.2% and 2.7% uptick. Footfall was still down 30.7% compared to the same week last year, although this was an improvement on the 32.5% decline seen the week before.

Diane Wehrle, Insights Director at Springboard, said: "It seems that the increased quarantine measures imposed last week on a number of overseas destinations are having a positive impact on UK footfall.

"Footfall in UK retail destinations last week not only rose on a week on week basis, but the uplift was more than four times as large as the week before, and two and a half times as large as the same week last year. The outcome is a further incremental recovery in footfall compared with 2019, and the sixteenth consecutive week in which the annual decline has lessened which offers a glimmer of hope for retailers."