Summer may be over, but for retailers now digging into how the season performed, a new analysis of ONS weekly retail footfall data offers a useful benchmark. The study uncovers the stability of week-to-week shopper numbers across the UK’s regions over summer, finding Scotland to have some of the biggest variations in footfall for the second year in a row
The research, from point of sale provider Epos Now, used the ONS/BT Active Intelligence weekly footfall figures for June-August 2025 and 2026 to compare differences in annual performance. The study then measured two factors for each UK region (aside from Northern Ireland) to assess how footfall is performing; how much weekly footfall values varied relative to their average level over the period (stability), and how footfall this summer compared to the 2023 levels ONS index against (growth).
Scotland sees biggest variations in footfall, but growth is high
Scotland’s weekly footfall varied by 6.55% on average in summer 2026 and 6.22% in summer 2025. Footfall started summer 2026 slightly below its 2023 baseline before climbing to 20% above it by mid-August, which could have been driven by the likes of Edinburgh Fringe Festival, as one possibility. However, looking at how footfall is performing against 2023 averages that the ONS index against, on average Scottish retail saw weekly footfall increase by 5.49%. In comparison, in 2025 Scotland’s footfall grew by 2.84% on average each week over summer.
London’s footfall booms
Looking at footfall in London, the region’s weekly footfall was 17.5% above the 2023 average. The region also had fairly stable figures, with footfall varying by 3.44% away from its summer average, and was at its highest through 29th June – 19th July.
East of England’s footfall shows stability
The East of England demonstrated some of the most stable weekly footfall figures, with it varying weekly by 2.4% on its summer average. Alongside this, the region also saw growth of 4.71% on weekly footfall from 2023’s indexed average. However, this is down from the 7.3% weekly average footfall growth the region saw in 2025.
North East, North West, and Yorkshire show declines
Despite having low variations in weekly footfall, the North East, North West, and Yorkshire recorded declines in weekly footfall against their 2023 baseline through summer 2026. The North West saw average weekly footfall fall by 2.6% from 2023’s average, whilst the North East saw a 4% decline and Yorkshire a 5% decrease.
Region | 2026 variation | 2026 Average weekly footfall vs 2023 baseline | 2025 variation | 2025 Average weekly footfall vs 2023 baseline |
UK total | 2.56% | 5.69% | 2.47% | 3.45% |
England | 2.54% | 6.02% | 2.56% | 3.48% |
East of England | 2.42% | 4.71% | 2.45% | 7.25% |
North East | 2.62% | -4.16% | 2.82% | 0.35% |
North West | 2.80% | -2.61% | 3.26% | 0.41% |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 2.81% | -5.37% | 3.69% | -0.49% |
East Midlands | 2.88% | 1.54% | 3.39% | 4.17% |
West Midlands | 3.10% | 1.40% | 3.28% | 4.06% |
South East | 3.33% | 2.56% | 2.30% | 2.54% |
London | 3.44% | 17.53% | 4.13% | 5.13% |
Wales | 4.22% | 1.03% | 3.34% | 5.04% |
South West | 4.49% | 1.06% | 3.35% | 3.32% |
Scotland | 6.55% | 5.49% | 6.22% | 2.84% |
Jacyn Heavens, CEO at Epos Now, comments, “Footfall across retail has seen fluctuations through the summer months caused by extreme heat and seasonal sporting events, however, the number of regions showing growth on the 2023 averages that the ONS benchmark against shows promising hope for highstreets, retail parks and the like. As we move into the golden quarter of the year for retail, it’s important that retailers focus on understanding and using their real time sales data to forecast for the likes of footfall, stock, and staffing.”
