Retail footfall creeping up, data shows

By Liz Wells in Industry News 9th April 2021

Footfall on high streets declined by 64.6% in the five weeks to 3 April, compared to the same period in 2019, new research reveals.

The BRC-Sensormatic IQ data also shows shopping centre footfall declined by 73.2% in the five-week period compared to 2019’s figures.

Total UK footfall decreased by 68.7% in March, a 4.9 percentage point improvement from February, research shows.

Northern Ireland again saw the smallest footfall decline of all regions at -56.4%, followed by Scotland at -66.3%, and England at -68.7%. Wales saw the deepest decline at -71.2%.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of British Retail Consortium, said: “Footfall crept up on high streets and shopping centres as warmer weather coincided with the end of the government’s ‘stay at home’ requirements. The earlier Easter date also gave consumers a reason to do a little extra food shopping, with strong demand for chocolate and Easter Eggs leading to extra store visits.

“Consumers appear to be more confident about visiting shops, showing that the safety measures put in place are clearly helping to make shoppers feel more comfortable visiting and returning to stores.”