Retail Footfall Improved Slightly In May

The latest data from Springboard reveals that UK retail footfall figures dropped by 73.3% in May as lockdown continued.

Retail parks experienced a 55.1% decline, following the opening of garden centres and homewares stores. High street footfall declined by 78.2% and shopping centres experienced a drop of 80.5%.

The overall figure was actually an improvement on April's record decline, helped in part by two bank holidays and the sunniest May weather since 1957.

Springboard marketing and insights director, Diane Wehrle, said: “The second month of lock down meant that retail footfall in May continued to remain at an unprecedented low, declining by 73.3 % year on year. This was a marginal improvement on the drop of 80.1% in April, reflecting the immediate response of consumers to the easing of government restrictions as garden centres and home stores were given the green light to reopen.

“However, in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, where restrictions were not relaxed, footfall was 75% lower than in May 2019, reflecting the more limited movement of consumers.”

“The key trend to be watched over the period of retail reopening in June, and over subsequent months, will be whether this signals the beginning of a new era for local high streets. Certainly, what is likely is that those destinations and retailers that are best able to manage customer numbers to ensure social distancing will be the most in demand by consumers as safety during shopping is paramount.”

"The limited evidence so far has suggested that, despite the growth in online shopping over the past two months, there is a huge amount of pent-up demand among consumers for bricks-and-mortar shopping.

“The first indication of this were the monumental queues that built up at major home stores in the weekend before the official easing of lockdown restrictions in England on June 1.

“While retail parks are already seeing some recovery in footfall, this is certainly not the case for high streets and shopping centres, where the decline in footfall over the few days since June 1 still remains at more than 70 per cent."

Source : Insight DIY Team 

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