Ahead of the Easter weekend period, which is set to arrive with a mini heatwave and marking the first Easter without any social restrictions since 2019, retail analysts Springboard have forecast that footfall will rise by 6.2% over the weekend.
Springboard has predicted that footfall will rise by +6.2% over the Easter weekend from the weekend before, and by +13.3% on Saturday.
Saturday is set to drive the greatest uplift of +13.3% from the week before and +17% in high streets.
Springboard said that high streets and retail parks are likely to benefit more than shopping centres over the weekend as a whole, due to the warm and sunny weather which will draw people to outdoor destinations
“Shoppers are likely to head to retail parks to purchase garden products and food and groceries for home entertaining of family and friends,” commented Diane Wehrle, director of insights at Springboard.
“The forecast rise in footfall over the week will mean that footfall in retail parks will be just -1.4% below the 2019 level and -11.6% in high streets.
She added: “Although footfall in shopping centres is not forecast to increase as much as in high streets, the gap from 2019 will be smaller at -8.4% which is due to a poorer performance in shopping centres in 2019.”
