MRI: High Street & Shopping Centre Footfall Rebounds

MRI Software has shared its latest footfall data, noting an increase as we move towards the final weeks of the summer period.

Week 33 – SUN-SAT

Footfall in high streets and shopping centres rebounded last week which suggests the end of the ongoing disorder which occurred in the week before last, but also an indicator that the peak summer holiday period is coming to an end.

Activity in UK retail destinations rose week on week on five out of seven days with high streets experiencing the greatest rise, particularly on Wednesday and Thursday which is a bounce back from the week before when riots were scheduled for that period. Shopping centres also witnessed a similar trend however retail parks saw the reverse with footfall declining marginally on all days aside from Wednesday where there was a marginal uplift.

Across the UK, regional cities outside of London saw the greatest week on week uplift which is likely to be a bounce back from the week prior. This was followed by Greater London which is likely to be influenced by the final leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour returning to the capital. At a regional level, retail destinations in the South East, South West and Wales witnessed modest declines in footfall week on week overall compared to rises in all other UK regions.

Despite rises recorded in high streets and shopping centres last week, footfall failed to rise above 2023 levels whereas retail parks experienced a healthy year on year rise.

Overall, footfall rose by +1% last week in all UK retail destinations compared with the week before which was largely driven by high streets (+2%) and shopping centres (+1.2%) whereas retail parks saw a modest decline of -1.3%.

High streets and shopping centres experienced daily rises in activity from Tuesday to Saturday peaking on Wednesday (+5.2% and +6.8%, respectively) and Thursday (+6.3% and +4.4%, respectively). This coincides with when footfall levels were at their lowest in the week prior which is when much of the riot action was planned for. Retail parks, however, experienced a weak start to the week with footfall declining by -4.6% week on week on Sunday and this set the tone for the rest of the week with marginal declines recorded each day aside from Wednesday when activity rose by a modest +0.5%.

As Taylor Swift kicked off the final five dates of her European tour last week, Greater London recorded a +4.1% rise in footfall week on week with the greatest rise of +10.5% witnessed on Thursday. However, the most significant impact to the capital was felt on Friday as footfall levels rose by double digits year on year in Central London (+10.5%), Greater London (+12.2%) and also reflected in MRI Software’s Central London Back to Office benchmark (+16.8%).  This suggests an influx of visitors to various pockets of the capital which may well be a mix of tourism and Swifties exploring affordable stay options as well as the city itself. With Taylor Swift’s second leg of the UK tour set to generate more than £100 million for the capital alone, as reported by the Evening Standard, retail, leisure and hospitality venues across the city will benefit from this welcome economic boost following the recent setbacks experienced. These venues should also be prepared from an additional boost following the tour dates as many fans may well extend their stay and make the most of their time in the city.

Regionally, retail destinations within the South East (-1.2%), the South West (-1.3%) and Wales (-1%) witnessed declines in footfall week on week compared with rises in all other regions.

Despite a fairly strong recovery for high streets and shopping centres last week, footfall levels failed to surpass 2023 levels as both destinations recorded marginal declines of -0.3% and -0.9%, respectively. However, retail parks experienced a rise of +3.5% which was mainly driven by midweek gains.

Week 33 – MON-SUN

Footfall in high streets and shopping centres rebounded last week which suggests the end of the ongoing disorder which occurred in the week before last, but also an indicator that the peak summer holiday period is coming to an end. 

Activity in UK retail destinations rose week on week on five out of seven days with high streets experiencing the greatest rise, particularly on Wednesday and Thursday which is a bounce back from the week before when riots were scheduled for that period. Shopping centres also witnessed a similar trend however retail parks saw the reverse with footfall declining marginally on all days aside from Wednesday where there was a marginal uplift.

Across the UK, regional cities outside of London saw the greatest week on week uplift which is likely to be a bounce back from the week prior. This was followed by Greater London which is likely to be influenced by the final leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour returning to the capital. At a regional level, retail destinations in the South East, South West and Wales witnessed modest declines in footfall week on week overall compared to rises in all other UK regions.

The recovery for UK retail destinations continued as footfall rose by year on year. This was mainly driven by retail parks followed by more marginal rises in high streets and shopping centres.

Source : MRI Software

Image : shutterstock.com / 1137631598 / William Barton

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