Second lockdown footfall ‘more resilient’ as Christmas nears

Between Thursday and Sunday footfall across all shopping destinations increased by an average of 13% compared with the same three days the previous week, just after lockdown began.

According to the latest data from Springboard, shoppers returned to high streets, shopping centres and retail parks by the end of the week, seeing 10%, 14% and 19% rises respectively.

Shopper numbers are also up compared with the first week of March’s lockdown, where figures plummeted down 75% year on year in its first complete week. 

With retail entering the crucial Christmas period, the footfall decline due to lockdown restrictions wasn’t nearly as severe as last time, averaging a 58% decline year on year in the week to November 14.

Retail footfall also soared 136% week on week in Wales after its two-week firebreak lockdown was lifted, providing some hope for retailers for December.

Springboard insights director Diane Wehrle said: “The fact that footfall is more resilient may well be a function of the proximity of Christmas and the concern of shoppers to buy well in advance this year to avoid queues, facilitated by the wide range of non-food products offered in stores selling essential goods. 

“In the second half of the week, from Thursday to Saturday, footfall was significantly higher than on the same three days in the previous week, which were the first three days of the lockdown, indicating that as the week progressed shoppers began to make trips out of their homes.

“Indeed, this reinforces the concern about the likely rebound in activity following the end of the lockdown, highlighted by the unprecedented increase in footfall recorded in Wales following the end of the two-week lockdown.”