According to retail experts Springboard, footfall rose by +2.3% last week from the week before across all UK retail destinations.
The rise was mostly driven by high streets where footfall rose by +4.2% versus just +0.5% in shopping centres and +0.1% in retail parks.
In coastal towns footfall rose by +8.5% from the week before, versus just +3.1% in market towns, +4.9% in Central London and +4.7% in city centres outside of the capital.
From Thursday onwards – when the weather became warm and sunny – footfall rose from the week before by +8.1% across all retail destinations and by +12.4% in high streets, versus +4.3% in shopping centres and +2.8% in retail parks.
“The favourable weather from Thursday onwards had a positive impact on footfall across UK retail destinations last week,” said Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard.
She added: “There was a surprisingly strong uplift in footfall in high streets on Friday given that it was a working day, which was more than five times as large as the rise on Saturday.
“Interestingly, this could be a real sign that hybrid home/office working may be making it more feasible for consumers to make spontaneous trips to destinations outside of the weekend, a trend we expect to see rise.”
