While the overall footfall of UK shoppers remains below pre-pandemic levels there were further signs of recovery in the retail market, last month, with the return of weekend shopping.
The latest figures from the British Retail Consortium show a 9.7% year-on-year rise in footfall growth on weekends in March, faster than the 5.4% rise (YoY) for weekdays. Sunday was the most improved day with 10.6%, followed by Saturday at 9.2% while total UK footfall increased by 6.8% in March.
Although the pace of recovery has eased high streets and shopping centres both maintained strong growth levels with footfall increasing by 8.6% and 8.2% respectively year-on-year.
According to Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, “Footfall remains below pre-pandemic levels, and the rate of strong recovery slowed in March. Households avoided big ticket purchases, resulting in lower footfall at Retail Parks, meanwhile High Streets and Shopping Centres saw strong footfall growth as these locations continued to make up ground lost during the pandemic.
“Another sign of the return to pre-pandemic footfall patterns is the return of weekend shopping, as the ongoing return to the office caused many to refocus their shopping trips back to the weekend.”
She added, “In this challenging economic environment, retailers remain committed to keeping costs low for consumers, including expanding value ranges and offering discounts to vulnerable groups. However, Government should ease the regulatory burdens that hinder industry investment into lower prices.”
Among the UK nations, Scotland saw the highest increase in footfall at 12%, followed by Wales at 9.1% and Northern Ireland at 7%. England saw the lowest increase at 6.5%. Total UK Footfall remained 10.2% below pre-pandemic levels.
Andy Sumpter, Retail Consultant EMEA for Sensormatic Solutions, said: “Shopper traffic counts in March saw an improvement on last year, which is no small feat given the backdrop of ongoing cost-of-living pressures, stubbornly high inflation and strike disruptions continuing to simmer away. Retail parks remained the outlier, with a slightly more suppressed recovery due to their tenant mix of predominantly furniture, kitchen and bed retail outlets, as shoppers expressed spending caution and held off purchasing big ticket items.”
He added, “While the retail footfall recovery slowed marginally last month compared to pre-pandemic levels, we continue to see shopper numbers continue to normalise and the ebbs and flows in performance are becoming less pronounced. We also see, perhaps as a consequence of hybrid working becoming the norm, the significance of the weekend rising, leaving Friday and Monday trailing behind.”
