Easter weekend saw surge in footfall as shoppers await reopenings

The cold weather on Easter Monday put only a slight damper on the long weekend as consumers are eager to see an end to restrictions. Footfall across all UK destinations rose 8.5 percent last week, with high streets up 9 percent and retail parks 9.7 percent, according to the latest figures from Springboard.

Having passed the anniversary of Lockdown 1 footfall last week was 68.1 percent higher than in the same week in 2020, but still -57.3 percent lower than in 2019.

In comparison, footfall over the Easter weekend was -7.6 percent lower as a whole than over the same four days in the week before. Footfall rose from the previous week in coastal and historic and also in Central London. In all of these three town types there was a particularly significant uplift on Sunday, driven by the opportunity to meet up with friends and family in warm and sunny weather.

The cold weather on Monday impacted the overall result for the Easter weekend, with a drop in footfall on Monday from the week before of -20.2 percent across all retail destinations.

Following the easing of restrictions people ventured out to larger destinations over the Easter weekend.

Diane Wehrle, Insights Director at Springboard commented: “With exceptional weather across most of the UK it was not a surprise that last week footfall rose across all retail destinations from the week before, and with the warmest weather occurring in the south it was unsurprising that this part of the UK that benefited the most. Footfall rose across all three destination types, but external environments inevitably benefitted more than shopping centres where the rise in footfall was a third lower than in high streets and retail parks.

Following the anniversary of the start of Lockdown 1 in the week before, footfall last week was 1.5 times as great as it was in the same week in 2020, but still two thirds lower than in 2019.

The Easter weekend was a week earlier than in 2020, with Good Friday and Easter Saturday overlapping the end of the week. The Easter weekend as a whole (Friday to Monday) was disappointing with a drop in footfall from the same four days in the previous week, however, the bank holiday weekend was hampered by the cold weather on Monday. Despite this, footfall was more than double that over Easter in 2020 although still more than a half lower than over Easter in 2019.”

Image via Pexels; Article source: Springboard