Retail footfall decline slows as fewer Brits stay home in lockdown
Retail footfall levels during the current national lockdown have not plummeted to the record lows seen in March, the latest analysis showed.
Footfall across all UK retail destinations dropped 10.9 per cent last week compared to the previous seven days. The decline was less than half the 27.1 per cent drop recorded the week before.
The annual decline in the second week of the latest lockdown hit 67.5 per cent but did not reach the low levels recorded in the first or second week of the nationwide shutdown in March, according to Springboard data.
In the week beginning 10 January, central London suffered a 11.1 per cent footfall decline, with the year-on-year drop hitting 88.7 per cent. Greater London fared slightly better with a 7.7 per cent slump in footfall.
However footfall across regional cities, excluding the capital, dropped 15.3 per cent, with an annual decline of 79 per cent.
Shopping centres and high streets continued to be the most affected by the drop in footfall, due to the closure of non-essential stores, with declines of 14.6 per cent and 11.5 per cent respectively.
Retail park footfall dropped just 5.8 per cent due to a higher concentration of essential stores such as supermarkets, mirroring a trend recorded throughout the pandemic so far.
Springboard insights director Diane Wehrle said: “In what was the second full week of lockdown across the UK, footfall in retail destinations once again declined from the previous week, although the rate of decline slowed to less than half of that in the week before.
“This means that the annual decline in footfall has still not equalled either the lowest level in Lockdown 1 or even the level in the second week of Lockdown 1”.