According to retail experts Springboard, footfall rose by +11.1% across all UK retail destinations last week from the week before when it dropped by -3.8% due to storms Dudley and Eunice.
The uplift came from a bounce-back in footfall on Friday and Saturday when footfall averaged +43.3% higher than the week before, helped by the sunny weather on these days, compared with an average decline of -22.3% over these two days in the previous week as a result of the adverse weather.
The overall increase saw the gap from the 2019 level narrow noticeably, to -17.2% from -26.3% in the week before, although the uplift from 2021 only improved marginally to +123.9% from +122.4% in the previous week.
Diane Wehrle, Insights Director at Springboard, commented: “Footfall across UK retail destinations bounced back in overall terms last week from the severe impact of the storms in the previous week.
“However, this was wholly due to a recovery in footfall on Friday and Saturday, which was undoubtedly helped by the dry sunny weather on these two days, but also due to exceptionally low comparables in the week before due to the impact on footfall because of Storms Dudley and Eunice.”
She added: “The return of employees to their offices appears to be continuing, with a rise in footfall last week in Central London and in Springboard’s Back to the Office benchmark, which tracks activity in areas of Central London that are in close proximity to offices.
“However, it is likely that a large proportion of the uplift in Central London will have been driven by half term family trips to the capital as footfall in regional cities across the UK between Monday and Thursday increased only very marginally.”
