Footfall rose last week, registering its first rise for a month, buoyed by a return of office workers.
According to Spingboard footfall rose by 2.7% last week, compared with the week earlier. However the picture was mixed across the country.
In central London footfall was 6.5% higher and in city centres outside the capital the growth was 6.1%. However, in outer London and in market towns across the UK, footfall rose by just 1.5%.
During Monday to Friday, footfall rose in high streets by 6.7% but it fell by 1.5% on Saturday. In shopping centres footfall rose by 3% during the week but increasd by just 0.4% on Saturday.
‘Footfall in UK retail destinations last week rose last week from the week before, which is the first rise in the past four weeks and a particularly positive result as footfall declined in the same week in both 2019 and 2020. Footfall rose in all three destination types, but by far the greatest uplift occurred in high streets, where the increase was a third higher than in shopping centres and four times as great as that in retail parks, says Diane Wehrle, Springboard insights director.
‘High street footfall was undoubtedly supported by a shift back to the office, demonstrated by a greater uplift from the week before in central London and large city centres outside of the capital, than in smaller high streets and in outer London. In areas of central London with a large proportion of office rather than retail space, footfall rose by more than in central London as a whole.’
