Springboard reports slight decline in pedestrian traffic
In a week where Storm Gareth roared across most of the country footfall saw an annual decline of -1.7 per cent, albeit a significant improvement upon the decline of -5.9 per cent of the same week last year when snow and rain covered the country causing large drops to all retail locations. Visitor numbers also declined against the previous week, falling by -1.3 per cent as consumers stayed indoors.
The annual decline was driven by the high street and shopping centres, with drops of -2.5 per cent and -3.0 per cent. High Street numbers fell by -7.7 per cent last Sunday (10th March), up against Mothering Sunday in 2018, but both succumbed to the effects of Storm Gareth, with the largest declines of the week falling on Tuesday and Wednesday. For both locations types, the results were comprehensive across the country with high streets experiencing a low of -6.9 per cent in Scotland and shopping centres, -7.4 per cent in Wales.
Retail Parks proved once again, to be more resilient in the face of extreme weather, with an increase in visitor numbers of +1.6 per cent against last year. Despite an increase against last year in 5 of the retail park regions, this was not enough to influence the overall regional results for the Springboard Index.
