Retail Footfall Dipped Last Week

MRI Software has published its latest OnLocation Index, covering Sunday to Saturday, 14/04/2023 - 20/04/2024.

Overall

2024 vs 2023: -1.2%
Week-on-week: -3.5%

High Street

2024 vs 2023: -1.7%
Week-on-week: -3.4%

Shopping Centre

2024 vs 2023: -1.9%
Week-on-week: -5.8%

Retail Park

2024 vs 2023: +0.4%
Week-on-week: -1.3%

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

As schools reopened across the UK following the Easter school holidays, footfall dipped last week from the week before in UK retail destinations with shopping centres witnessing the greatest drop.

The weekday vs weekend dynamic was evident with the weekday period witnessing varying degrees of decline in footfall each day when compared with the week before however activity rose over the weekend period in all UK retail destinations. This could possibly be influenced by improving weather conditions.

Many town types and regions also observed a similar trend particularly Central London as it played host to its 44^th London Marathon. Coastal towns witnessed the greatest drop highlighting the end of the school holidays, followed by MRI Software’s Central London ‘Back to Office’ benchmark which could suggest people staying away as the city geared up for the running event of the year.  At a regional level Wales, the West Midlands and Northern Ireland were the only regions to witness marginal uplifts in activity week on week with declined recorded in all other regions.

The turbulence of last week meant that footfall was marginally lower in all UK retail destinations when compared against 2023 levels which highlights the return to schools and offices.

Footfall declined by -3.5% last week in all UK retail destinations when compared with the week before. This was particularly noticeable in shopping centres where footfall dropped by -5.8% whereas high streets and retail parks witnessed lesser week on week declines of -3.4% and -1.3%, respectively. This very much highlights the end of the Easter school holidays across all regions.

Shopping centre activity was hit the hardest as footfall declined each day from the week before reaching double digits on Monday (-10.8%) and Thursday (-10.9%). Retail parks and high streets observed a similar trend however high streets saw footfall rise on Tuesday (+1.2%) and retail parks saw a marginal uplift on Friday (+0.7%) from the week before. With changes in the weather, the weekend saw significant uplifts with footfall rising by +4.6% on Saturday across all retail destinations.

Central London, in particular, saw a notable rise over the weekend as it played host to its 44^th London Marathon. Footfall rose on Saturday (+5%) and Sunday (+9.3%) as crowds gathered on the streets of London, benefitting leisure and hospitality businesses post-event as footfall rose by +16.5% after 5pm when compared with the same time period in the week before, and by +7% year on year. Full day figures on Sunday for Greenwich and office locations within the city – as reflected by MRI Software’s Central London ‘Back to Office’ benchmark - also saw footfall rise by a quarter week on week signalling the positive impact of the marathon on various locations within the city, especially in the wake of rail strike action.

It was no surprise to see coastal towns witness the greatest week on week drop in footfall (-8.6%); all town types saw declines in activity however they were much less than in coastal towns. MRI Software’s Central London ‘Back to Office’ benchmark also highlighted a decline in footfall of -6.9% which may suggest employees staying away from the city as it geared up for the marathon.

Retail destinations in Wales (+1.8%), the West Midlands (+0.6%) and Northern Ireland (+1.7%) were the only regions to see a marginal uplift in footfall week on week compared with declines in all other regions.

When compared with 2023 levels, footfall declined marginally by -1.2% in all UK retail destinations. This was particularly noticeable in shopping centres (-1.9%) and high streets (-1.7%) but retail parks observed a marginal rise in footfall of +0.4%. However, this is likely to be short lived with the Early May Bank Holiday on the horizon.

Source : MRI Software

Image : Alena Kravchenko / iStockphoto / 1134663982

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