Bank Holiday footfall up 49 percent

The Bank Holiday weekend saw a 49 percent increase in footfall, compared to the Easter holiday, as lockdown restrictions were eased. Footfall in retail parks increased by 42 percent on Saturday compared with Easter Saturday. In coastal towns footfall was 62 percent higher.

The opening of non-essential shops on 15th June suggest significant pent up demand amongst consumers, according to Springboard, which provides insights on bricks and mortar retail activity.

Footfall across all UK retail destinations on both Saturday and Monday was a third higher than on the same trading days over the Easter weekend. Back in April consumers avoided the temptation of a Bank Holiday heatwave and retailers saw footfall drop 83 percent over 2019.

Diane Wehrle, Springboard’s Insights Director, said “We anticipate that once stores open on 15th June – despite the rise in online shopping that has been recorded – the evident pent up demand to go out amongst consumers will absolutely translate into footfall. However an anticipated spending spike could possibly be short lived, as consumers will be cautious and looking at reigning in their spend due to ongoing financial uncertainty in many UK households. Additionally the safety of shoppers and workers will be paramount as announced yesterday by the Prime Minster, so retailers over the coming weeks will need to be working hard to ensure that customer occupancy measures in stores and destinations are in place and carefully managed so that social distancing measures can be implemented successfully.”

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