AUGUST TEN 2020 DIGITAL

The Magazine for the Awards & Imaging Industry AUGUST 2020 TROPHIES AWARDS ENGRAVING DOMING PERSONALISATION SUBLIMATION BESPOKE EMBROIDERY PRINTING IMAGING LASER Footfall rises fourfold last week RETAIL NEWS Retail footfall across all destinations in the UK jumped 4.1% last week, a four-fold increase on the week before. Last week’s footfall surge driven by big recoveries in Greater London and the South East. UK retail footfall grew 4.1 per cent last week, a four fold increase from the previous seven day period. According to insights firm Springboard, the latest data compares to a rise of 0.8 per cent in the prior week and 1.8 per cent in the same week last year. The figures also reveal that shopping centres saw the biggest footfall uplift at 7.1 per cent, followed by high streets at 3.2 per cent and retail parks at 2.7 per cent. Springboard said the overall footfall was boosted by significant growth in Greater London and the South East, where there were respective increases of 6.8 per cent and 7.1 per cent. This marked a reversal on the previous week when footfall in both regions declined, and they were also better than the same week last year when footfall only rose by 1.6 per cent in Greater London and by 2.2 per cent in the South East. Springboard insights director Diane Wehrle said increased quarantine measures imposed on returning overseas holiday makers had a positive effect on UK footfall. “Footfall in UK retail destinations last week not only rose on a week-on-week basis, but the uplift was more than four times as large as the week before, and two and a half times as large as the same week last year,” she said. “The outcome is a further incremental recovery in footfall compared with 2019, and the sixteenth consecutive week in which the annual decline has lessened which offers a glimmer of hope for retailers.”