Springboard records fall in pedestrian traffic
Considering that on Easter Sunday, major stores closed, the annual decline of -5.2% for the week is tepid, and testament to the counteractive strength in daily performance of the remainder of the week. In comparison to the previous week, numbers dropped further, down -9.9% against the week containing both Good Friday and Easter Saturday.
The weather was a significant influence over the changing performances of individual location types. On Easter Sunday, with only high streets able to trade, and even without the pulling power of large retailers, the opportunity for consumers to enjoy the weather meant that numbers fell just -15.7% annually in comparison to retail parks and shopping centres which fell -56.4% and -68.2% respectively. Whereas on Easter Monday, whilst high street and shopping centre numbers fell, retail parks, the home of DIY, saw a leap of +11.2% as consumers took advantage of the weather and four-day weekend, which was also echoed in the +4.5% rise week on week.
Overall the results for the week are comprehensively negative, with the exception of a 0.1% rise in visitors to retail parks in Scotland against the previous week, where stores are not limited by Easter Sunday trading laws, albeit this was not enough to influence an annual change.
