UK retail footfall down 81.1 percent

UK footfall plummeted an expected 81.1 percent on March 30th in comparison to 2019, the latest figures from Springboard show. Week on week the drop was 58.6 percent.

Springboard Marketing and Insights Director, Diane Wehrle, said in a statement: “There were definite peaks and troughs in activity from day to day over the week, although the increase in footfall in retail parks due to panic buying subsided, demonstrating that the measures implemented by food store operators to control the number of shoppers are proving effective.”

In London’s West End, footfall was down 93 percent year-on-year for week commencing 23 March according to NWEC.

Sales will continue to fall in April despite the boost to food stores sales due to households’ attempts to stockpile, reported Savills. Once social distancing measures are relaxed, a strong rebound in sales will be seen, predicts Oxford Economics. This is buoyed by a combination of pent-up demand and very low inflation generating robust growth in household spending power. However, this is likely to be dependent on longer-term impacts on the economy.

Image: Springboard; Article sources Springboard, Savills Covid-19 Tracker