Springboard Data Shows Muted Pre-Easter Footfall

Springboard has published retail footfall data for week 14 (03/04 - 09/04) noting that muted pre-Easter footfall could indicate growing caution amongst consumers towards spending.

Springboard Index - Shopping Centre Index - Week 14 2022

2022 vs 2021 = +149.9%

2022 vs 2019 = -22.9%

Week-on-week = +2.4%

Springboard's Marketing and Insights Director, Diane Wehrle, said:  

"Footfall across UK retail destinations was muted last week in what was the end of the spring term for many schools across the UK, a week ahead of the Easter bank holiday weekend. The weather will not have helped, with rain on most days last week, across much of the UK. This inevitably led to a stronger performance in shopping centres than high streets as they offer protection from the elements, whilst on Saturday when the weather was dry and sunny across most of the UK the reverse was true. 

Whilst footfall did not rise across high streets generally last week, there were increases in activity in certain town types - most noticeably Central London and coastal and historic towns - as some consumers will have opted for a spring break or trips out ahead of Easter. At the same time, there was very little uplift in Springboard's Central London "Back to the Office" benchmark, indicating that many employees opted to work from home, which will have been a driver in the rises in activity recorded in Outer London and market towns as employees frequented high streets close to their homes. 

The uplift in footfall last week was far more subdued than in the same week in 2019, which is a good comparator as Easter 2019 fell on the same weekend as this year. In that week the increase in footfall was more than five times as great as it was this year, perhaps providing the first indicator of growing caution amongst consumers towards spending."

Source : Springboard

Image : shutterstock.com (130030334)

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