UK footfall rises 8% over early May bank holiday weekend

UK footfall across all retail destinations rose 8% between Saturday, 30 May to Monday, 2 May, compared to the week before, narrowing the gap from 2019's May bank holiday to an average of -8.3%.

According to the latest data from retail experts Springboard, Saturday and Sunday were the strongest trading days, with rises in footfall of +9.5% and 11.3% in consumer activity overall.

Footfall was 22.5% higher than last year in all UK retail destinations over the three days, 36.8% higher in high streets and rising to +52.1% higher than 2021 on Monday.

High streets and retail parks recorded particularly strong improvements compared to 2019, to -8.5% below 2019 in high streets over the three days and -5% from 2019 on Monday.

The lead up to the bank holiday weekend saw noticeably lower footfall than the week before across all destination types, with the end of Easter trips coinciding with declines in footfall by an average of -7.3% in coastal and historic towns over the seven days up to Saturday.

Diane Wehrle, Insights Director at Springboard, said: "Although the run up to the bank holiday weekend footfall was noticeably lower than the week before across all three destination types, it seemed consumers deferred shopping trips until the weekend, causing a spike in footfall. Not only this, the significant pick-up of retail park footfall over the Saturday and Sunday was undoubtedly driven by consumers restocking on food and groceries after the weekend.

"While it appears Easter trips had ended last week, with declines in footfall in coastal and historic towns, the bank holiday weekend showed a bounce back, with rises that averaged +8% and +14.7% over the three days from Saturday to Monday. This was reflected too in city centres around the UK activity also increased over the three days; by an average of +8% in Central London and by +15.9% in regional cities outside of the capital."