UK footfall rises for fifth consecutive week

In the penultimate week before the reopening of the UK’s retail and non-essentials businesses, footfall saw an uptick for the fifth consecutive week.

While numbers remain dire in comparison to 2019, there is a positive indication of what may occur once stores do start to reopen.

On Sunday 7 June, footfall was down -70 percent over last year, but down just -3.5 percent week on week, according to figures from Springboard.

Diane Wehrle, Marketing and Insights Director at Springboard said: “Last week, the penultimate week before the reopening of retail, provided the first indication of what may occur once stores do start to reopen. Footfall across all retail destinations, whilst still remaining at an unprecedented low, strengthened for the fifth consecutive week with the smallest annual decline since the start of the lock down and nearly a fifth lower than the largest annual decline which occurred in the second week of the lock down. With retail reopening across the board yet to take place, and home and DIY stores already trading, retail parks continued to significantly outperform high streets and shopping centres.”

Image: Oxford Circus via New West End Company