A boost in retail footfall coincided with the start of the school summer holidays for many across the UK last week when compared with the week before. However, the fact that many may have decided to take their holiday abroad was particularly noticeable in shopping centre footfall declining year-on-year. So says Jenni Matthews, marketing and insights director at MRI Software.
“Overall, footfall rose steadily each day week-on-week with a particularly strong start to the week. This is likely to be in response to the significant drop in activity experienced in the week before on Monday when many retail stores and destinations chose to adjust their opening hours following the Euro’s Men’s final. This upward trend continued as footfall rose each day with shopping centres seeing the greatest increases which could signal the start of the summer holidays as families looked to destinations offering a full family experience consisting of retail stores, leisure and dining options.”
Matthews said warmer weather also played a role, boosting footfall in coastal towns and regional cities outside of London. MRI Software’s Central London ‘Back to Office’ benchmark witnessed a significant lift year-on-year which may well signal the regional variations in how the summer holidays fall however much of this rise was seen at either end of the week – Monday , which Matthews said would have been likely due to the rebound from the week before, and Friday due to the start of many day trips into the city as the school summer holidays get underway.
“All regions experienced healthy week-on-week rises in footfall aside from Wales, where activity declined. This may well highlight the impact of families taking vacations either abroad or other parts of the UK where footfall was much higher especially in Southern parts of the country and Scotland.
“With a strong week for retail footfall, annual levels rose ever so slightly with high streets leading the charge followed by retail parks.
“As the school summer holidays broke for many across the UK, footfall rose by +4.8% in all retail destinations. This was led by a +6.9% rise in shopping centre activity followed by high streets (+4.4%) and retail parks (+3.3%).
“A strong start to the week saw a +9.9% rise in footfall in all UK retail destinations on Monday which is likely to be a bounce back from the week before when many retail stores and destinations adjusted opening hours in light of the Euro’s Men’s final. The momentum continued as the week progressed, with shopping centres experiencing strong increases in the latter part of the week, averaging +7.5% from Thursday to Saturday. This could be an indicator of many favouring family friendly destinations.”
Matthews said coastal towns emerged as the clear winners as the long-awaited British Summer emerged with footfall rising by +9.1% week-on-week. Regional cities outside of London also witnessed a healthy boost in activity of +7.4%. With regional variations in schools breaking for the summer, MRI Software’s Central London ‘Back to Office’ benchmark revealed a modest rise in footfall of +2.5% however the annual rise was much more significant at +7.8%. Regionally, footfall rose steadily aside from Wales where it declined by -2.4% week-on-week and -6% year-on-year. This contrasts with the rises experienced in Southern parts of the UK where footfall rose by an average of +5.4% and by +4.7% in Scotland.
“Compared to 2023 levels there was a modest rise in activity of +1.1% in all UK retail destinations led mainly by high streets (+3%) followed by retail parks (-1.1%). Shopping centres, however, saw a -2.5% decline in footfall highlighting the impact of families vacationing abroad this year likely encouraged by a weak start to the British summer,” she concluded.
