The school half-term holiday likely contributed to a boost in footfall across all UK retail destinations last week from the week before, with shopping centres leading the charge. So says Jenni Matthews, senior brand, PR and content manager (EMEA) at MRI Software.
“Footfall rose by +7% week-on-week in all UK retail destinations last week driven by a +12% rise in shopping centres and followed by rises of +5.6% and +4.5% in high streets and retail parks, respectively. Smaller centres drove much of last week’s activity with footfall rising by +8.5% followed by larger centres (+8.4%).
“The week as a whole was especially strong for shopping centres overall with footfall rising by an average of +16% from Sunday to Thursday compared to the same period in the week before. High streets experienced a drop in activity averaging -6.4% on Monday and Tuesday which may be related to a turn in weather conditions however this was short lived as footfall rose by an average of +9.6% from Wednesday to Saturday.
“Coastal and historic towns benefited from holidaymakers and day trips as footfall rose by +15.9% and +12.2%, respectively, compared to the week before. Regional cities outside of London also benefited from a +10.3% uplift however office dense locations within the capital saw a modest drop of -1.3%, week on week. The South West (+11.5%), East of England (+9.9%) and North & Yorkshire (+8.1%) also aligned with trends seen in coastal and historic towns indicating the onset of half term.
“While week-on-week trends provided a welcome boost for retail, leisure and dining establishments last week, annual levels remained marginally lower by -0.9%. This was particularly noticeable in retail parks (-1.2%) and high streets (-1.1%), however negligible in shopping centres (-0.3%).
“Looking ahead, all eyes will be on whether this wave of holiday-driven engagement can carry forward into June. With the summer season approaching and consumer habits shifting towards experience-rich destinations, retail destinations that offer more than just shopping are likely to remain front of mind for UK families.”
