Shoppers return to UK high streets as COVID restrictions end

UK shoppers have been making a return to high streets in January following the end of Plan B COVID-19 restrictions as employees returned to work.

This saw footfall slightly improve to 19.2% behind 2019 levels in the second half of the month in comparison to 21.5% drop in the first two weeks, according to data from Springboard.

The research also shows that the removal of Plan B restrictions saw overall footfall decline 20.8% for the whole of January in comparison to the same time in 2019. Footfall was down 18.6% in December last year.

The increase in shopping activity came as workers started to return to their offices for at least part of the week, with customers returning to physical stores during the day and to dine out in the evening.

However, the gain in footfall was only seen in the high street improving from 28.9% below 2019 in the first two weeks to -22.4% in the last half of the month. The footfall gap slightly worsened in shopping centres and retail parks in the latter two weeks of January from -24.9% to -25.4% and from -2.2% to -5.8%, respectively.

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"Whilst shopping centres and retail parks did not see a noticeable uplift in footfall in January, the impetus created by the start of the great return to the high street will inevitably generate a ripple effect across all physical destinations in the forthcoming weeks, which even at this early stage offers a reason for optimism amongst retailers and retail destinations,” said Diane Wehrle, marketing and insight director at Springboard.

There was a rise in footfall in both smaller high streets and in larger city centres due to hybrid working, and the growth of co-working spaces that are starting to emerge in smaller high streets, according to Springboard.

Footfall in Central London, regional cities and market towns across the country all strengthened by around a quarter between the second and the fourth week of January. It improved by nearly in third in outer London.

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