MRI: Marginal Decline In Weekly Retail Footfall

MRI Software has published its latest OnLocation Index for week 37, covering Sunday to Saturday, the week 08/09/2024 - 14/09/2024.

Overall

2024 vs 2023: +0.4%
Week-on-week: -0.5%

High Street

2024 vs 2023: -2.6%
Week-on-week: +0.9%

Shopping Centre

2024 vs 2023: +2.4%
Week-on-week: -1.6%

Retail Park

2024 vs 2023: +4.5%
Week-on-week: -2.3%

Jenni Matthews, Marketing & Insights Director, OnLocation for Footfall Analytics at MRI Software, said: 

Last week, footfall fell marginally in all UK retail destinations compared to the week prior as employees returned to offices and the return to school was fully established. Shopping centres and retail parks witnessed week on week declines which align with trends seen in the same week last year whereas high streets saw a marginal uplift.

A week of two halves emerged with declines recorded each day from Sunday to Wednesday with a much stronger performance recorded in the latter part of the week. Aside from coastal towns, all town types experienced week on week rises with MRI Software’s Central London ‘Back to Office’ benchmark recording the greatest uplift; another indicator of employees returning to offices, however it did remain lower than last year suggesting many may still be easing back into routines following the summer break. At a regional level, marginal declines were recorded across the board however Scotland and Greater London bucked the trend.

Footfall declined by -0.5% last week from the week before driven by a -2.3% drop in retail parks and a -1.6% drop in shopping centres. High streets, however, experienced a modest rise of +0.9%. This is an improvement for high streets when compared with the same week last year when footfall was -0.6% lower week on week.

The start of the week saw footfall decline by an average of -5.3% in all UK retail destinations from Sunday to Wednesday and was particularly pronounced in shopping centres (-6.6%). Activity levels shifted as the week progressed with footfall rising by an average of +5.8% across all UK retail destinations driven mainly by high streets where activity rose by an average of +8.3%.

All town types experienced a boost in activity aside from coastal towns (-2.9%) and market towns (-2.1%) which is understandable given the summer holiday period coming to an end. However, the return to office was reflected in footfall rising by +4.1% week on week in MRI Software’s Central London ‘Back to Office’ benchmark, and by +3% in regional cities outside of London. Regional cities outside of London also witnessed a +2.1% rise year on year which could indicate a much stronger return to office.

Footfall declined in all regions with the South East (-2.3%) and North & Yorkshire (-2%) regions experiencing the most significant drops however Scotland (+2.5%) and Greater London (+0.8%) saw the reverse with week on week rises.

Compared to 2023 levels, footfall rose marginally by +0.4% in all UK retail destinations with the most significant increases recorded in shopping centres (+2.4%) and retail parks (+4.5%). However, high streets experienced a modest decline of -2.6%.

Source : MRI Software

Image : William Barton / Shutterstock.com / 1184182105

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