Seven Dials shopping festival increases footfall by 30 percent

The maiden Seven Dials shopping festival, which took place earlier this month, has been hailed a success after it increased the footfall in the area by 30 percent, versus the previous Saturday. Themed around festivals, the initiative marked the area’s first-ever daytime shopping event and featured

more than 130 retailers, cafés and restaurants in the Seven Dials and St Martin’s Courtyard area as well as a pop-up lawn with deck chairs laid around the famous Seven Dials monument.

Organised in association with St Martin’s Courtyard and Shaftesbury Plc, the event also had the assistance of Camden Borough Council, who made the Seven Dials area a traffic-free zone for the day. The event attracted customers with a series of free on-street activities, including live music, free Pimms and giant games on the lawn around the dial, in-store entertainment and DJs at participating retailers, as well as offering each shopper 20 percent off during the festival.

Seven Dials goes traffic-free for shopping festival

Clare Harris, head of marketing communications at Shaftesbury, said: “We are delighted with the success of our Shopping Festival, which saw Seven Dials become London’s green heart for the day. Not only was footfall up significantly, anecdotal feedback from our retailers, restaurants, bars and cafés indicates the event was very effective in driving additional sales, which was a key objective from the outset.

“The Seven Dials and St Martin’s Courtyard shopping events have always been popular, but this year we successfully created something completely different that set us apart from other destinations in London, reflecting the unique character and offer of the area.”

Participating fashion retailers included Franklin & Marshall, which recently made its UK debut in Seven Dials, Diesel, Orla Kiely, The Vintage Showroom, Cath Kidston, Birkenstock, Banana Republic, Jack Wills, Peter Werth, Carhartt and Joules.

Image: Seven Dials shopping festival