Footfall in August improved by nearly a quarter, while the gap with pre-pandemic levels closed to less than 20% for the first time since the beginning of the crisis.

Shopper numbers fell 18.4% during the four weeks to August 29 compared to the same period in 2019, according to Springboard. It marked the first time that the difference between current and pre-pandemic footfall had closed to within 20%. 

Footfall was 23.5% down on 2019 levels on UK high streets, 24% in shopping centres and 2.4% in retail parks. Springboard noted UK shopping destinations benefitted from the popularity of staycations and daycations in August, particularly on high streets.

Footfall in central London was still down 38% below pre-pandemic levels. However, that represented a considerable improvement from -50.4% in July, with further improvement expected in September as schools go back and people return to the office. 

In large cities outside of the capital, footfall improvement was nearly double that across smaller high streets, putting them at a comparable level versus 2019 for the first time since the pandemic began. 

Springboard noted that barring any unforeseen future lockdowns or returning of restrictions, “it appears to be a reasonable expectation that by the end of the year footfall will be just 10% to 15% below the pre-pandemic level.”

The footfall expert said August’s data reflected the findings of the Springboard UK Retail Consumer Report for August which identified that 89% of consumers feel some degree of comfort in visiting retail destinations and 50% are completely comfortable in making trips.

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