London retail recovers after Storm Eunice footfall hit
London’s shopping destinations rebounded last week as crowds returned to the heart of the capital with gusto.
Footfall leaped 17 per cent in central London last week, compared to the week prior, according to retail experts Springboard. It was also 374.3 per cent busier compared to the same week last year, when the country was in the throes of lockdown.
Office hubs in London also saw a 20.3 per cent leap in footfall, with workers deterred last week during extreme stormy weather.
However, the capital still recorded the largest gap between pre-pandemic levels, with central London footfall last week down 24.3 per cent on 2019 figures. Springboard’s ‘back to the office’ benchmark reported that in office hotspots, including the City, footfall was down 32.1 per cent on 2019 levels.
Londoners were urged to stay indoors the week before last due to strong winds as Storm Eunice made its way across the country.
Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard, said it was likely that “a large proportion of the uplift in Central London will have been driven by half term family trips to the capital as footfall in regional cities across the UK between Monday and Thursday increased only very marginally.”
Across the whole of the UK, retail destinations marked a 11.1 per cent leap. Footfall had dropped some 3.8 per cent the week prior, across the UK.
According to Ipsos’ retail traffic index, footfall in London and the South East lifted 8.2 per cent on the week last week.
Overall, the UK marked a 14 per cent increase in footfall, Ipsos’ data said. By its metrics, footfall in the country was down 18.6 per cent on 2019 levels.