Springboard records uplift in pedestrian traffic
Footfall increased +2.1 per cent against the previous week as the school holidays began in earnest, on par with the +2.4 per cent seen in the same week last year. This did not however translate to an annual, with footfall dropping -1.1 per cent against last year, albeit this is progress upon than the -2.9 per cent seen in 2017. The betterment is brought by the High Street which saw a flat week against 2017, but this change is a huge improvement upon a result of -5.1 per cent last year.
Shopping centres led the way against the previous week with an increase of +4.1 per cent, a testament to the adage of the positive impact of school holidays on shopping centre performance as a safe, enclosed, fully managed environment for families. That said, the annual position for shopping centres has worsened with a move from -2.1 per cent in 2017 to -4.0 per cent this year, shown through a decline across all areas of the country. Of course, this change in high street and shopping centre numbers is at least in part, attributable to the high temperatures and prolonged sunshine of last week. Retail parks also saw a slight worsening in position annually, dropping -0.3 per cent but saw a steady rise of +2.4 per cent against the previous week.
Regionally, whilst the weekly increase blanketed the country, only Greater London and the West Midlands saw an annual increase, with results of +1.5 per cent and +1.2 per cent respectively, as each saw a combination of high street and retail park growth
