UK footfall drops -20.6 percent over Coronation weekend

Coronation Day drew nearly 18.8 million television viewers, with the wet weather keeping people at home. Data from Springboard shows footfall across all UK retail destinations was -20.6 percent lower than the previous Saturday and -24.6 percent lower between 10am and 3pm when the ceremony and parade took place.

London did see an influx of visitors, but not so much at retail level. Footfall in Knightsbridge, however, was up 57.7 percent versus last week, as thousands of people lined up in the Mall to Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey.

Diane Wehrle, Insights Director at MRI Springboard, said in a statement: “Saturday’s Coronation - a once in a lifetime event for many - somewhat inevitably drew consumers away from stores and destinations as many were watching the proceedings. Footfall across all UK retail destinations was -20.6 percent lower than the previous Saturday over the day as a whole, and -24.6 percent lower between 10am and 3pm when the ceremony and parade took place.

However, there was a significant variation across different towns and cities with uplifts in footfall in many. In Central London the increase in visitors to the Capital coming to witness the event in person meant the drop in footfall over the day as a whole was far smaller at -9.3 percent and footfall between 10am and 3pm was virtually on par with the week before (-0.2 percent) and in non-retail areas of Central London it was 8.5 percent higher than last week.

In Knightsbridge - a location with an iconic British brand but more distant from Westminster Abbey so easier to access - footfall over the day as a whole was 9.7 percent higher than on the previous Saturday, and a staggering 57.7 percent higher than the week before over the five hours from 10am to 3pm.

There were also uplifts in footfall in other towns and cities across the UK, as big screens were erected in some high streets to enable shoppers to watch the proceedings. In King Edward Street in Hull footfall was +3.9 percent higher than last Saturday between 10am and 3pm, and in New George Street in Plymouth footfall was 7.8 percent higher over those five hours."

Across all UK retail destinations footfall was -21.2 percent the 2019 level, but in Central London it was just -6.1 percent below 2019 and in non-retail areas of Central London it was 10 percent higher than on the same day in 2019.