Week four of trading post-lockdown – what you need to know

Retail footfall across all UK shopping destinations rose 10.6% in week four of trading, more than twice the 4.1% increase seen the previous week, according to the latest data from Springboard.

High streets saw a particular surge in footfall, up 16.5% week on week, due to the presence of restaurants, cafes and bars, which reopened their doors to the public from July 4. 

Insights reveal that there was a double-digit rise in high street footfall across the UK on five days of the week, whereas shopping centres saw this on just two out of the seven days.

On Sunday and Monday, for example, UK high streets saw an average of 27.5% more footfall week on week, compared to 10.8% in shopping centres and 1.1% increase at retail parks on those two days.

The reopening of the hospitality sector has had a clear impact on the levels of footfall increase. 

While high streets are the clear winner, shopping centre footfall increased 7.8% across the UK, which is a positive result despite their lack of food and beverage outlets.

Retail parks have also attempted to capitalise on hospitality footfall by opening coffee shops and family-oriented restaurants, yet footfall increased marginally by 0.7%.

As retail parks have fared better throughout lockdown due to the presence of essential stores, footfall at the destinations is only around a fifth lower year on year, compared with shopping centres and high streets that are still experiencing around half the footfall of the same time in 2019.

Regional impacts

With all shops across the entire UK permitted to reopen from June 29, the easing of other lockdown restrictions in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales also powered the overall results.

In Northern Ireland, footfall rose 21% week on week as restaurants and bars reopened there too. As expected, high streets led the way as footfall jumped 24.9% week-on-week as shoppers and diners returned.

Scotland and Wales both eased travel restrictions in week four, leading to overall increases in footfall of 11.8% and 13.6% respectively.

Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon said restaurants and pubs will be permitted to open in Scotland from July 15. 

In Wales, pubs and cafes were allowed to serve customers outside from July 13, but will only be allowed to serve inside from August 3. Pub chain Wetherspoons has said it will keep its Welsh locations closed until it can serve customers indoors and other businesses are likely to follow, potentially impacting Welsh footfall levels until then.

Springboard insights director Diane Wehrle said: “The first complete week following the reopening of hospitality in England demonstrates the contribution that this sector makes to footfall in retail destinations. The result was also supported by the positive impact on footfall from the easing of restrictions in other nations.” 

Comparisons to 2019

Despite some signs of improvement, footfall remains low across most locations in the UK, averaging a  decline of 42.6% year on year.

Even with the reopening of restaurants and pubs, English high street footfall remains down 52.4% year on year.

Regions across England saw a huge variation in the levels of footfall increase, from a low of 6.1% in the East Midlands and 6.6% in the East to a 16.5% increase in the South West. 

Central London saw a rise in footfall week on week of nearly 25%, undoubtedly supported by the return of hospitality, but this figure still remains 70% lower than the same week in 2019.

Northern Ireland has recovered the most from the all-time low of 80% reduction in footfall in the height of lockdown, with footfall rates down 20.9% year on year. Northern Irish retail parks have experienced almost normal levels of footfall in week four, down 4.2% year on year. 

With hospitality reopening in both England and Northern Ireland, footfall levels are likely to continue to improve – and next week will reveal the impact of the sector on Scottish shopping destinations too.