UK retail footfall below pre-pandemic levels despite March hike

Retail footfall jumped last month, industry research showed on Friday, although it remains firmly below pre-pandemic levels.

According to the latest BRC-Sensormatic IQ Footfall Monitor, total UK footfall in the five weeks to 1 April was up 6.8% on the same period a year earlier.

It was 3.6 percentage points lower than February’s increase, however, as well as being lower than the three-month average increase, of 9.5%. Compared to March 2019, footfall fell 10.2%.

High streets and shopping centres recorded the strongest footfall last month, up 8.6% and 8.2% respectively, but there was a weaker performance at retail parks, with footfall down 5.9%.

There was also more activity at weekends, with footfall up 9.7% on Saturdays and Sundays year-on-year compared to a 5.4% rise on weekdays.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: "Households avoided big ticket items, resulting in lower footfall at retail parks; high streets and shopping centres saw strong footfall growth as these locations continue to make up ground lost during the pandemic.

"Another sign of the return to pre-pandemic footfall patterns is the return of weekend shopping, as the ongoing return to the office caused many to refocus shopping trips back to the weekend."

Andy Sumpter, EMEA retail consultant at Sensormatic Solutions, said: "Shopper traffic counts in March saw an improvement on last year, which is no small feat given the backdrop of ongoing cost-of-living pressures, stubbornly high inflation and strike disruptions continuing to simmer away."