UK footfall down 75.4 percent, according to new daily benchmarking

Retail intelligence firm Springboard is releasing daily updates to help retailers make sense of the changing environment. On Tuesday footfall fell 75.4 percent, the highest drop to date, in comparison to the same day in 2019.

The result for the week before last – which began to reveal the potential impact of Coronavirus on consumer activity - pales into insignificance against the result for last week. The decline in footfall week on week was on par with the drop normally seen in the week post Christmas, and the annual change represented an unprecedented decline in footfall that was three times greater than the worst result ever previously recorded.

What it also revealed, however, was the extent of panic buying, with footfall actually increasing in retail parks where many food stores are located.

Tuesday was the worst day for footfall

“The annual decline in UK footfall on Tuesday, 24th March was the most severe on any day since the start of the Coronavirus outbreak, but it was still less than in both Italy and the US,” said Dian Wehrle, Marketing and Insights Director. “UK footfall fell noticeably from Monday, but this follows a sharp increase between Sunday and Monday which had had been the highest daily change yet, as consumers stocked up in advance of the increased restrictions on movement that were announced in the evening.”

Image: Oxford Street via New West End Company; Figures via Springboard