Hospitality sector boosts high street footfall

The UK high street was given a boost in July following the reopening of the hospitality sector, states retail experts Springboard, as the footfall strengthened as much in July as it did in June when retail reopened indicating the “importance” of this sector for bricks and mortar retail.

For the four weeks covering July 5 to August 1, Springboard reveals that footfall declined by 39.4 percent year-on-year, however, the result marked an improvement of nearly a fifth from June, which means the month ended with the best result since February.

High streets and shopping centres saw the most noticeable improvement, although both of these destination types have far more ground to make up than retail parks in terms of recovering shopper numbers as footfall in both is more than 40 percent lower than last year.

High street footfall fell by 42.7 percent, while shopping centres down by 42 percent, compared to a decrease of 19.9 percent in retail parks, which has the advantage of ease of access by car, free parking, open-air environments and large stores making social distancing easier to achieve.

Springboard added that it is going to be an “ongoing competing challenge” for high streets and shopping centres, and they need to work “even harder at reassuring shoppers of their safety”.

The introduction of mandatory wearing of face coverings occurred at the tail end of the penultimate week of the month, so its contribution to footfall is “yet to be established”, added Springboard.

July footfall declined by 39.4 percent, but still the best result since February

July’s result comes with a note of caution, as all of the key changes that are recognised as obvious boosts to footfall have now been implemented, and yet bricks and mortar destinations are still only attracting six out of every ten shoppers that visited last year.

The significance of online spending, which exceeds the CRR’s forecast for 2028, is unlikely to decline, and the lack of tourism and the fact that people continue to work from home isn’t helping the high street.

In Central London, which is more reliant than anywhere else in the UK on tourists and workers, footfall in July remained 69 percent lower than in 2019.

Diane Wehrle, Springboard marketing and insights director, said in a statement: “Whilst July’s result is the most positive since the pandemic, it comes with a note of caution. We know that the significance of online spending now exceeds the CRR’s forecast for 2028, and it is unlikely to retract back into the starting blocks with many consumers having acquired new shopping habits, but other key factors that will constrain footfall are the lack of tourism, the fact that so many people continue to work from home and rising unemployment, as businesses feel the impact on their revenues of the lockdown and the ongoing social distancing requirements.

“This is demonstrated by the fact footfall is significantly lower in large towns and cities that are a focus for workers and overseas tourists. The most extreme example is Central London, which is more reliant than anywhere else in the UK on a combination of tourists and workers, and where footfall in July remained 69 percent lower than in 2019.

“With current discussions bubbling over about how we get the schools back in September and expert views that in order to do this sectors of the hospitality sector may need to close, the improvement in footfall over the coming weeks is not likely to be any more than gradual. A further key factor that will inevitably constrain the ongoing recovery of retail, whether it be online or bricks and mortar, is the impending recession which we know is just around the corner.”

Springboard has the most comprehensive footfall data set in the UK using the latest generation automated technology, recording over 70 million footfall counts per week at 4,500 counting points across 480 different shopping sites in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

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