Retail footfall set to rise 8% over Jubilee weekend

Retail footfall in the UK is expected to jump 8% across all destinations over the Platinum Jubilee bank holiday, according to retail consultancy Springboard.

Following a modest rise in footfall last week, Springboard expects the Jubilee and half-term holiday to boost footfall over the weekend, with high streets seeing an increase of up to 10%. Footfall at shopping centres is expected to rise 7%, while retail parks should see an uplift of 4%.

The weather is forecast to be sunny but not hugely hot on Thursday and Friday, followed by showery weather over the weekend, which generally boosts shopping trips as day trips to beaches and leisure attractions hold less appeal, Springboard said.

In the run-up to the Jubilee, footfall rose 2.3% last week from the previous week across retail destinations, with footfall up 2.2% on high streets, 2.1% at retail parks and 2.5% at shopping centres.

The week started strongly, with a 6.5% rise in footfall on Sunday, but this fell away between Monday and Wednesday when rain hit many parts of the UK, Springboard said.

Diane Wehrle, Insights Director at Springboard, said: "The best performing day was Friday, buoyed by warm sunny weather.

"The return of employees to the workplace appeared to accelerate last week, with noticeable increases in footfall in Central London and in Springboard's Central London ‘Back to the Office’ benchmark, which tracks footfall in those Central London locations closest to offices, as well as in city centres outside of the capital. In contrast, in market towns - where a rise in footfall has become synonymous with home working - footfall remained flat from the week before, and likewise in Outer London the increase in footfall was just a third of that in Central London."