Latest data from retail experts Springboard has revealed that post- Christmas, footfall across UK retail destinations declined by -23.2% on the week leading up to Christmas, with the biggest drop seen in shopping centres by -31.8% with drops in high streets (-21.9%) and retail parks (-16.8%).
Footfall across the UK as a whole was 55.7% lower than in the same week last year; 64.6% lower in high streets, 60% lower in shopping centres and 31.9% lower in retail parks.
The greatest loss of footfall from last year continues to occur in London and large city centres across the UK, where last week it was 81.8% lower than in the same week last year.
“The end of the festive trading period and tightened government restrictions unsurprisingly saw footfall in UK retail destinations drop significantly at the end of 2020,” said Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboars
“Moving into a new year, with the extension of Tier 4 across virtually all of England and lockdowns in place in the devolved nations, retailers are unlikely to see any respite until restrictions are eased in the coming weeks or months.
“We know from our experience of retail reopening in June 2020 that until the widespread roll out of the vaccine, retail footfall will remain significantly below the pre Covid level.”
