Shopper footfall still down on pre-pandemic levels despite Black Friday boost

Shopper footfall remained significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels last week despite the Black Friday sales event, figures show.

Shopping centres were the biggest winners on Friday, seeing visits up 16.8% on the week before, while footfall across all UK retail destinations rose by 3.2%, according to analysts Springboard.

However, footfall was still down 14.1% across the week compared with 2019, and 17.5% down on Black Friday.

Not unexpectedly, large city centres drew consumers over the Black Friday week, with footfall up 4.9% in central London and 4.3% in cities outside the capital, and up 13.3% and 17.8% respectively on Black Friday itself.

Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard, said: “UK retail destinations received a boost last week from Black Friday, with an increase in footfall from the week before that was twice as large as in the previous week.

“However, notably footfall still remained significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels, indicating consistent nervousness around spending in the current climate.

“At the same time, consumers appeared to regard the occurrence of Black Friday last week as an excuse for making trips to high streets to enjoy the pre-Christmas festivities, with increases in footfall in city centres and towns that appeal to consumers for day trips.”