Skip to content
Search
AI Powered
Latest Stories

Shopper numbers plunge as English lockdown makes impact

Total shopper numbers across British retail destinations plummeted 57.7 per cent in the week to 14 November year-on-year, reflecting the impact of England's second national lockdown, market researcher Springboard said on Monday.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland enacted new COVID-19 health restrictions last month and England began a one-month lockdown on 5 November to curb a second wave of the pandemic that has left the United Kingdom with Europe's highest death toll.


In England, all non-essential shops had to close, along with pubs, cafes and restaurants except to offer takeaway food. People have also been encouraged to work from home if possible.

Springboard said shopper numbers, or footfall, was 64.7 per cent lower year-on-year in UK high streets and 65.7 per cent lower in shopping centres but down 34.3 per cent in retail parks.

It noted that footfall was more resilient than it was in the first complete week of England's first lockdown in March when it plunged by 75.1 per cent across all UK retail destinations.

"The fact that footfall is more resilient may well be a function of the proximity of Christmas, and the concern of shoppers to buy well in advance this year to avoid queues, facilitated by the wide range of non-food products offered in stores selling essential goods," said Springboard director Diane Wehrle.

The researcher said that following the end of a two week lockdown in Wales, footfall in its retail destinations rose by 135.9 per cent last week from the week before, providing an indication of what may occur in England when the latest lockdown ends on 2 December.

More for you

A woman enters the Selfridges department store

A woman enters the Selfridges department store on December 13, 2024 in London, England

Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images

Retail faces mixed fortunes in 2025 amid cost pressures, AI opportunities, and high street revival


The UK retail sector is bracing for a challenging but opportunity-filled 2025, according to Jacqui Baker, head of retail at RSM UK. While the industry grapples with rising costs and heightened crime, advancements in artificial intelligence and a revival of the high street offer potential pathways to growth, she said.

Keep ReadingShow less
unsafe soft drinks seized in Southend

Unsafe soft drinks seized in Southend

Photo: Southend-on-Sea City Council

1,100 unsafe soft drinks seized in Southend safety crackdown

Southend-on-Sea City Council officials have secured food condemnation orders from Chelmsford Magistrates Court, resulting in the seizure and destruction of 1,100 unauthorised soft drinks.

The condemned drinks, including Mountain Dew, 7-UP, Mirinda, and G Fuel energy drinks, were found during routine inspections of food businesses across Southend by the council’s environmental health officers.

Keep ReadingShow less
Charity Super.Mkt at Brent Cross Shopping centre in north London

A customer browses clothes inside Charity Super.Mkt at Brent Cross Shopping centre in north London on, December 17, 2024

Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images

Brits kindle Christmas spirit with second-hand gifts

Bursting with customers one afternoon the week before Christmas, a second-hand charity shop in London's Marylebone High Street looked even busier than the upscale retailers surrounding it.

One man grabbed two puzzle sets and a giant plush toy as a present for friends, another picked out a notebook for his wife.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nothing is more important than your Mental Elf

Nothing is more important than your Mental Elf

Lancashire Mind’s 11th Mental Elf fun run was its biggest and best yet – a sell-out event with more than 400 people running and walking in aid of the mental charity, plus dozens more volunteering to make the day a huge success.

The winter sun shone on Worden Park in Leyland as families gathered for either a 5K course, a 2K run, or a Challenge Yours’Elf distance which saw many people running 10K with the usual running gear replaced with jazzy elf leggings, tinsel and Christmas hats.

Keep ReadingShow less
A woman walks past a window display promoting an ongoing sale

A woman walks past a window display promoting an ongoing sale, on December 13, 2024 in London, England.

Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images

Retail sales disappoint before Christmas

UK retail sales rose less than expected in the runup to Christmas, according to official data Friday that deals a fresh blow to government hopes of growing the economy.

Separate figures revealed a temporary reprieve for prime minister Keir Starmer, however, as public borrowing fell sharply in November.

Keep ReadingShow less