Shoppers in the North East of England were the most eager to return to stores in the first week after non-essential retail re-opened.
Footfall was down by only 15.4% in the region between 12-17 April, compared to the same week in 2019, according to Ipsos, which excludes grocery and convenience stores.
Across England and Wales footfall was down 28.9% on its 2019 level: a similar level to December, before the winter lockdown.
Yorkshire and Humberside saw the slowest bounce-back, with shopper numbers 35.5% lower than in 2019.
Regional performances were: North East -15.4%; West Midlands -19.8%; East Midlands -22.1%; North West -27.3%; Eastern England -30.5%; Wales -30.7%; South East -32.4%; London -32.5%; South West -33.2% and Yorkshire and Humberside -35.5%.
Despite the North East leading the way in its footfall recovery, the retail centres seeing the best bounce-back were more evenly spread across England. Worcester saw the biggest recovery across the country, closely followed by Romford, Derby Wolverhampton and Leicester.
Central London locations suffered the worst footfall comparisons, with the City of London down -58.8% and the West End -45.6% on the same period in 2019. Aside from Central London, other places hardest hit included Oxford (-41.9%), York (-41.5%) and Cambridge (-37.3) – all important tourist destinations.
‘Our Retail Recovery Index shows the huge appetite for shoppers to return to their local high streets after a difficult period of lockdown. The North East and West Midlands have seen a strong recovery, particularly driven by footfall in cities such as Worcester, Wolverhampton, and Middlesbrough. The success of these locations, shows clearly that shoppers are continuing to get their retail therapy in their local area and have not yet been drawn back to major retail destinations like London, Manchester and Birmingham,’ says Tim Denison, Ipsos head of retail analytics and insights.
