Super Saturday may not have been that super footfall-wise across the UK, but the West End of London has been seeing strong footfall in recent weeks.
Photo: Pexels/Public domain
The New West End Company (NWEC) told the BBC that central London has diverged from the national trend with footfall up 9% in the seven days before Black Friday week, while in the week itself it was up 4.1%. The week that kicked off with Cyber Monday also saw a 6.1% footfall rise.
Meanwhile the 6-7 December weekend was also “busy” as Regent Street was temporarily closed to traffic and Oxford Street hosted live performances.
Those two events saw significant footfall rises. Regent Street’s pedestrianisation, for instance, saw footfall rising 33.7% year on year and the live performances on Oxford Street saw it up 25.1%.
“Both events featured on-street festive activations and in-store offers and experiences, drawing crowds and causing footfall to surge by nearly a third across the weekend,” a spokesperson told the news organisation.
NWEC also told the BBC that it has been seeing “real momentum” overall during the period.
Its statements come as retailers in the area pull out all the stops to attract more people through their doors. Significant moves includes the Disney takeover at Selfridges; John Lewis opening its temporary VIP members lounge in its flagship; last weekend’s special appearance by Lewis Hamilton at Lululemon’s Regent Street store; Penhaligon’s upgraded reopening; the latest Michael Kors opening; and multiple events and debuts on Bond Street, Carnaby Street and beyond.
