Westfield footfall boosted by athletics

Westfield Stratford City has seen a spike in footfall for the start of August, due to the return of athletics to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Stadium, attracting 1.2 million visitors over the past 7 days making it the highest footfall week since the London 2012 Olympics.

The shopping centre once again reprised its role as “gateway to the games” and Westfield recorded a 29 percent year-on-year increase in visitors, in what it is calling the “Bolt factor”, and attracted 1.8 million visitors over the 10-day event.

Myf Ryan, chief marketing officer at Westfield UK/Europe, said: “We’ve seen a spike in footfall over the duration of yet another fantastic sporting event achieving our highest footfall since the Olympics. During the Olympic Year in 2012 Westfield Stratford City attracted 47 million visitors however now just five years on, Westfield Stratford City every year attracts over 47 million shoppers, making it the number one shopping centre in the UK.”

Westfield Stratford City broke UK footfall records when it attracted 47 million people in its first year, nine million during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and set another British best last September when figures revealed it had drawn 220 million visitors in its first five years with retail sales of 5 billion pounds.

The centre is home to some 30 ‘UK first’ stores and concepts such as Victoria’s Secret, Stradivarius, Smiggle and an Ikea small format. New wins in the past 12 months include the opening of Swedish fashion brand H&M’s largest ever UK store in May 2017.

Images: courtesy of Westfield Stratford City