There was a “welcome uplift” at UK retail destinations last week, as the school summer holidays and payday weekend “sparked increased shopping activity, particularly on high streets and in shopping centres”.
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That’s according to the latest weekly (20-26 July) footfall figures from MRI Software, which showed that despite the improved activity, “visitor numbers continued to fall below 2023 levels”, with high streets down 1.3% and retail parks 0.5% lower year on year.
Across all UK locations compared to the previous week, high streets enjoyed a sharp surge midweek and again on Saturday (26 July), “pointing to the pull of local events and day trips”.
Shopping centres led the charge, posting strong week-on-week gains, especially on Thursday and Friday as consumers made the most of payday, the report noted.
As the school holidays got under way, annual levels remained lower in many towns and cities with coastal and historic towns seeing the sharpest drop “which could indicate that international travel may well be taking priority this year”, the report noted.
However, Central London was the only location to see a modest uplift year on year “which could reflect the pull of live music events”.
Footfall in high streets saw a sharp week on week rise on Tuesday (+10.3%) and Saturday (+14.6%) with modest rises interspersed throughout the week resulting in an overall uplift of 4.8% for the week.
Shopping centres also saw strong performance with visitor activity rising by 5.5% bolstered by end of week increases averaging 7.3% on Thursday and Friday.
Retail parks saw modest rises daily with peaks recorded on Sunday (+5.6%) and Thursday (+3.3%) however a drop in activity on Saturday (-2.4%) resulted in the week’s overall result remaining only 1.4% higher compared to the week before.
