A month of two halves provided May with a healthy boost in retail footfall with a recorded rise of +3.7% in all UK retail destinations from the month before. This was mainly driven by a surge in high street activity where footfall rose by +5.1% following by retail parks (+3.6%), whereas shopping centres witnessed a marginal month on month rise of +0.8%. This boost in activity is the greatest month on month rise seen since May 2021 (+6.8%), while much of the UK was still going through a recovery period from the pandemic, which is encouraging news for retail destinations.
The first half of the month is likely to be where all of the gains were made as the early May bank holiday coupled with much warmer weather provided the perfect backdrop for people heading out, particularly to high streets where footfall rose week on week by an average of +3.7% in the first two weeks of the month. Even the rail strike action, which occurred in the second week of the month, appears to be subsiding. Despite disruptions occurring throughout the week, footfall continued to rise both week on week (+4.1%) and year on year (+7%) in high streets. This is where we would normally expect to see the greatest effect however with the bank holiday weekend and warmer weather, it could be that towns and cities kickstarted their summer events and festivals to drive footfall which is evident from the uplift in activity observed at either end of that particular week.
Retail park footfall remained relatively steady throughout the month aside from the boost observed in the first week (+3%) of the month however shopping centres experienced marginal week on week declines in footfall for the final three weeks averaging -0.7%.
The first week of the month, driven mainly by a boost in the latter part of the week as shoppers looked to stock up on groceries and bank holiday essentials, is likely to have contributed to the overall month on month rise for shopping centres and retail parks.
Another positive trend identified throughout May is that weekend footfall rose by +2.1% compared to 2023 levels which may well have been boosted by the bank holiday weekend and warmer weather. However, weekday footfall declined by -1.7% which could be an indicator of the rail strike action coupled with adverse weather conditions as the month progressed.
While May saw strong footfall performance in comparison to April, the year on year trends saw a marginal dip of -0.6%, influenced by a decline in high street (-1.2%) and shopping centre (-1.4%) footfall. This was anticipated due to the three bank holidays which occurred last year including the King’s Coronation. Retail parks bucked the trend and witnessed a +1.6% rise in footfall year on year which may well have been boosted by the warmer weather earlier in the month encouraging DIY and barbecue purchases.
Looking ahead, there is much optimism for the retail and hospitality sector with major events including the Euros 2024, Glastonbury, and even Taylor Swift’s Eras tour arriving in the UK likely to boost footfall in various locations across the country. Recent reports from GFK also revealed an improvement in consumer confidence which was largely driven by people feeling confident about their personal finances, increasing by 15 points when compared against this time last year. With a general election imminent and a heavy focus on revitalising the high street, only time will tell how election campaigns will impact retailer and consumer confidence in the coming weeks. Monitoring retail footfall data in real-time can provide the insights retailers need to adapt quickly and stay competitive in a fast-moving retail landscape.
