- Footfall across all UK retail destinations up +9.1% annually, with a week-on-week footfall boost of +1.6%
- Largest increase across destination type seen on high streets with +2.4% weekly increase, against modest week-on-week rises at retail parks (+0.9%) and shopping centres (+0.8%)
- Central London ‘Back to the Office’ benchmark rose up +36.4% compared to 2022 with week-on-week footfall up by +5% as workers returned following rail strikes
- Increase seen across cities outside the capital with +19% rise at regional cities
- Positive performance across the UK with weekly rises in footfall at seven of Springboard’s ten regions
- Gap to 2019 remained at familiar level of -14.5% across all UK retail destinations
According to retail experts MRI Springboard, footfall across UK city centre high streets bounced back last week following disruption caused by rail strikes. Across UK high streets footfall increased by +13% compared to 2022 levels, whilst footfall across all UK retail destinations rose annually by +9.1%.
Consumers returned to UK high streets after trains strikes the week previous, with city centres boosted by the return of workers to the office. Footfall at MRI Springboard’s Central London “Back to the Office” benchmark, which tracks footfall around office hotspots, tracked a +36.4% boost to footfall compared to 2022. Cities outside the capital also benefited, as annual footfall climbed +19% at regional cities excluding London.
In comparison, footfall outside city centres experienced more muted annual increases. Footfall increased annually by just +6.6% at market towns and +8.8% at historic towns.
Despite the bounce back, the gap to pre-pandemic levels remained visible last week. Against 2019 levels footfall was down -14.5% across UK retail destinations. Footfall in Central London remains -19.7% below pre-pandemic levels.
Diane Wehrle, insights director at MRI Springboard, comments: “Footfall across UK retail destinations rose last week from the week before with increases across all three destination types. However, last week was clearly a week when consumers returned to UK high streets following train strikes in the week before last. Whilst the uplift in high street footfall from the week before was only in line with the average from the start of 2022, it was three times as great as in retail parks and shopping centres.
On an annual basis too, the rise in footfall in high streets was nearly double that in shopping centres and ten times that in retail parks. By far the greatest recovery in high footfall from 2022 occurred in large city centres – in London and elsewhere across the UK – most probably driven by employees returning to their offices, whilst there were far more modest year on year increases in smaller high streets.
Performance was positive across much of the UK, with rises in footfall from the week before in seven of the ten geographies.”
Week beginning 05/02/2023 (Sunday to Saturday) | |||
Year on year % change in footfall – 2023 vs 2022 | Week on week % change in footfall | % change in footfall – 2023 vs 2019 | |
All UK Destinations | 9.1% | 1.6% | -14.5% |
UK High Streets | 13.0% | 2.4% | -16.8% |
UK Retail Parks | 1.3% | 0.9% | -5.3% |
UK Shopping Centres | 8.4% | 0.8% | -18.5% |
Week beginning 05/02/2023 (Sunday to Saturday) | |||
Year on year % change in footfall – 2023 vs 2022 | Week on week % change in footfall | % change in footfall – 2023 vs 2019 | |
East | 13.4% | 0.9% | -8.0% |
East Midlands | 9.9% | -1.3% | -14.9% |
Greater London | 13.1% | 1.8% | -9.3% |
North & Yorkshire | 5.9% | 2.9% | -18.2% |
Scotland | 12.4% | 1.8% | -19.1% |
South East | 1.3% | -1.6% | -16.0% |
South West | 5.5% | 2.9% | -10.2% |
Wales | 10.1% | -1.6% | -13.5% |
West Midlands | 7.6% | 2.4% | -14.4% |
Northern Ireland | 19.4% | 4.4% | -17.3% |
Week beginning 05/02/2023 (Sunday to Saturday) | |||
Year on year % change in footfall – 2023 vs 2022 | Week on week % change in footfall | % change in footfall – 2023 vs 2019 | |
Coastal Towns | 1.9% | 0.2% | -25.1% |
Historic Towns | 8.8% | 2.6% | -15.3% |
Regional Cities | 23.0% | 2.4% | -15.2% |
Central London | 26.7% | 4.1% | -19.7% |
Outer London | 9.3% | 2.4% | -10.1% |
Market Towns | 6.6% | 1.9% | -20.5% |
Regional Cities Ex London | 19.0% | 1.2% | -11.8% |
CL “Back to the Office” | 36.4% | 5.0% | -19.5% |
