High street footfall soars on Super Saturday after lockdown lift
Footfall in England hiked almost 36 per cent on Saturday evening, according to new research, as revellers flocked to high streets around the country to enjoy their first pints out after more than three months of lockdown.
New data released by Springboard today showed that footfall on English high streets rose 35.8 per cent on Saturday evening and 48.9 per cent on Sunday evening after pubs, bars and restaurants were finally allowed to open for the first time since lockdown began in March.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday scrapped the two-metre social distancing rule in favour of new “one metre-plus” guidance, which allows the public to socialise in closer distances providing they take “mitigating precautions” such as wearing a face mask and gloves.
The footfall rate was slightly lower throughout the daytime last weekend, with footfall rising by 17.8 per cent on Saturday and 36.5 per cent on Sunday as the public enjoyed the reopening of some of England’s galleries, cinemas and hairdressers.
London’s streets were particularly busy over the weekend, with high street footfall rising 26 per cent on Saturday and by more than 40 per cent on Sunday, increasing almost 63 per cent from the week before.
Scenes of densely-packed streets emerged over the weekend after thousands flocked to Soho on 4 July to celebrate so-called Super Saturday. Police patrolled the capital’s streets after tight-knit groups of pub-goers sparked concern that social distancing rules were not being observed.
But health secretary Matt Hancock yesterday praised the “vast majority” of people who enjoyed the lockdown lifting over the weekend, adding that it was “really good to see people out and about and largely social distancing”.
However, the hospitality industry appeared to pinch customers from the retail sector on Saturday and Sunday, as non-essential shops have already been allowed to trade for several weeks. In shopping centres, where there is a limited offering of restaurants and venues with alcohol permits, the rise was just six per cent on Saturday and just under 11 per cent on Sunday.
Retail parks similarly failed to spark much interest over the weekend, with footfall declining on both Saturday and Sunday compared to last weekend.
Despite more optimistic results for the hospitality sector on Saturday and Sunday, footfall remains at around half of the 2019 level, as the coronavirus crisis continues to hammer businesses across the country. Footfall saw a decline of almost 58 per cent across all destinations in England on Saturday compared to last year, and a dip of 53.4 on Sunday.
Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard, said: “Despite what are positive signs for the hospitality industry on the first weekend of reopening, it is essential to recognise that footfall remains at around half of the 2019 level… As the industry takes small steps in reopening post pandemic, we recognise there is still a long way to go before the industry returns to normality.”
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned that the UK now faces a “major recession”, as months of lockdown has crippled business across sectors.
The chancellor yesterday said he is mulling plans to give all Brits hundreds of pounds in vouchers to spend in businesses worst hit by the coronavirus crisis, in a bid to revive the UK’s ailing economy.
New proposals, which have been drawn up by left-leaning think tank the Resolution Foundation, could see all adults receive £500 and children £250 to use in the most badly impacted sectors of the economy.