MRI: Retail Footfall Dipped Last Week

MRI Software has published its latest OnLocation Index for week 20, covering Sunday 12th to Saturday 18th May 2024.

Overall

2024 vs 2023: -0.6%
Week-on-week: -2.5%

High Street

2024 vs 2023: -2.6%
Week-on-week: -3.5%

Shopping Centre

2024 vs 2023: -1.0%
Week-on-week: -1.6%

Retail Park

2024 vs 2023: +4.0%
Week-on-week: -1.0%

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

Footfall last week dipped by the equivalent week on week rise witnessed in the week before last, in all UK retail destinations. This was primarily driven by a decline in high street activity while retail parks and shopping centres experienced more modest declines.

A mixed week highlighted that footfall rose on only two out of the seven days last week compared with the week before in all retail destinations with high streets seeing the greatest declines on Sunday and Thursday. However, by Saturday activity began to rebound across all retail destinations with retail parks and shopping centres driving this upward trend. Coastal and historic towns witnessed the steepest declines week on week whereas footfall bounced back marginally in Central London and office locations within the city indicating the end of the rail disruptions from the week before.

Aside from retail parks where there were some regional uplifts in activity, especially in the West Midlands, the rest of the UK observed week on week declines. This aligns with the annual uplift seen in retail parks in contrast to declines in high streets and shopping centres.

All UK retail destinations witnessed varying degrees of decline last week from the week before with high streets driving this as footfall dipped by -3.5% compared with modest declines in retail parks (-1%) and shopping centres (-1.6%).

Footfall rose on only two out of the seven days last week in all UK retail destinations; Monday (+1.5%) and Saturday (+3.2%). The greatest declines were recorded in high streets on Sunday (-13.6%) and Thursday (-12.4%) with a mix of marginal declines and rises recorded on the days in between. Similar trends also emerged in retail parks and shopping centres however all retail destinations bounced back by Saturday as footfall rose by +3.2% largely driven by retail parks (+6.1%) and shopping centres (+5%).

Regionally, high streets and shopping centres saw week on week declines in activity however retail parks, particularly in the West Midlands (+2.8%) saw the greatest uplift with marginal rises also recorded in the South West, Scotland and Wales. Coastal and historic towns saw footfall decline by -9% and -6.3%, respectively, from the week before whereas Central London (+0.7%) and office locations within the city (+0.4%) saw footfall rise marginally  likely to be a rebound following the rail strike action which occurred in the week prior.

When compared to 2023 levels, activity within UK retail destinations dipped in high streets (-2.6%) and shopping centres (-1%) whereas retail parks saw footfall rise by +4% when compared. This could indicate consumers holding back on non-essential purchases ahead of the upcoming bank holiday weekend and half term school holidays with many focusing on grocery shopping as reflected by the more positive trends seen in retail parks.

Source : MRI Software

Image : shutterstock / 130030334 / MJTH 

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