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UK high street footfall drops as new 10pm curfew introduced

By Huw Hughes

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Retail

UK footfall across all retail destinations in the UK fell by 3 percent last week from the week before as a new 10 closure of hospitality outlets was enforced.

The overall decline was driven by high streets, where footfall was down 6.8 percent, while retail parks and shopping centres were up slightly 1.1 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively. Footfall across all retail destinations last week remained 28 percent lower than last year.

It came in the week the government announced people should be working from home where possible and a new 10pm curfew was enforced in response to a recent spike in Covid-19 cases.

“There was an immediate and downward shift in footfall in high streets from Wednesday onwards, which was inevitable given the prevalence of hospitality and the fact that the majority of offices are based in towns and city centres,” Springboard insights director Diane Wehrle commented. “Unsurprisingly, the compulsory closure of hospitality outlets at 10pm from Thursday onward led to a huge drop in footfall in high streets after 11pm.

“Despite the impact on footfall of the increased government restrictions from Thursday there was little impact on the annual result, as footfall actually rose marginally over the three days from Sunday to Tuesday, possibly due to consumers making trips in advance of further restrictions, which helped to offset the drops later in the week.”

Photo credit: FashionUnited

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