MRI: Rain And Flooding Impacted Footfall Last Week

MRI Software has published its latest OnLocation Index for week 39, covering Sunday to Saturday, the week 22/09/2024 - 28/09/2024.

Overall

2024 vs 2023: -4.0%
Week-on-week: -1.7%

High Street

2024 vs 2023: -6.2%
Week-on-week: -4.2%

Shopping Centre

2024 vs 2023: -2.0%
Week-on-week: +1.0%

Retail Park

2024 vs 2023: -1.3%
Week-on-week: +0.6%

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

The UK experienced a week of heavy rainfall and flooding across many regions, which significantly impacted footfall last week from the week before. High streets were particularly affected, while shopping centres and retail parks demonstrated resilience with marginal uplifts recorded week on week.  

High street footfall consistently fell each day last week compared to the week prior from Sunday to Friday with sharp declines recorded on Thursday, coinciding with the peak of severe weather conditions. Shopping centres and retails parks experienced similar trends but with lesser declines and witnessed an uplift in activity from Friday onwards which not only coincided with an improvement in weather in some parts of the UK but also payday for many. 

As expected, coastal towns saw the sharpest week on week decline followed by Greater London and market towns. Regionally, the East of England experienced a sharp decline in footfall week on week whereas Wales witnessed a modest rise. 

Compared to 2023 levels, footfall declined in all UK retail destinations with high streets driving much of this change. The adverse weather likely hindered travel, contributing to reduced footfall across many parts of the country. 

Footfall declined by -1.7% last week in all UK retail destinations compared to the week before. As the turbulent weather shifted across the UK, high streets felt the full force with activity declining by -4.2% whereas shopping centres and retail parks experienced modest rises in footfall of +1% and +0.6%, respectively.

From Sunday to Friday, high street footfall declined by an average of -6.4%, with Thursday seeing the greatest impact, experiencing a -11.7% drop compared to the previous week. Shopping centres and retail parks witnessed similar declines however they were much less severe likely due to the enclosed nature of these destinations. Nevertheless, activity levels did decline by an average of -2.1% in retail parks and -2.2% and shopping centres from Sunday to Thursday. However, from Friday this did improve with retail parks (+6.9%) and shopping centres (+5.1%) seeing significant growth coinciding with payday for many across the UK. 

The most significant week on week declines were recorded in coastal towns (-8.1%), Greater London (-7.5%) and market towns (-5.3%) following the impact of last week’s weather. At a regional level, the East of England saw footfall decline by -4.1% last week from the week before which was the greatest decline recorded in all regions last week. 

Overall, footfall fell by -4% in all UK retail destinations compared to last year. High streets led much of this decline as activity levels fell by -6.2% versus much lesser declines in retail parks and shopping centres of -1.3% and -2%, respectively. As this weather continues into the early part of this week, it’s important for retail stores and destinations to continue monitoring these trends to allow for quick, strategic decision making when it comes to staffing and adjusting opening hours where necessary.

Source : MRI

Image : AlxeyPnferov / iStock / 853989584

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