Retail footfall has plummeted so far this week as shoppers increasingly stay at home amid the coronavirus crisis.
Shopper numbers nosedived between Monday and Wednesday as a growing number of retailers temporarily close their doors to help slow the spread of the pandemic.
According to data from Springboard, high streets and shopping centres have suffered eye-watering declines in traffic, but footfall to retail parks has increased year-on-year.
Shopper numbers tumbled 27.8% year-on-year on Wednesday, driven by a 42.4% slump in the number of consumers visiting high streets. Shopping centre footfall was down 24.4%, while retail parks registered a 0.1% uplift.
The fall marked an acceleration on Monday’s and Tuesday’s footfall, when shopper numbers dropped 9% and 20.2% respectively.
Traffic to high streets slumped 16.8% on Monday and 32.1% on Tuesday compared to the corresponding dates a year ago.
Shopping centre traffic was down 6.4% on Monday and 17% on Tuesday.
But retail parks bucked the trend on both days, recording a 5.2% increase in shopper numbers on Monday and 2.1% on Tuesday.
Ikea, TK Maxx, Clarks and Fenwick are among the major high street names to have temporarily closed their stores for business this week.
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