Office Workers’ Return Boosts High Street Traffic by 36.4% in Central London
- Footfall surges 9% amid city centre recovery
- Office workers returning to city centres boosted footfall by +36.4% in Central London
- Annual footfall increased +19% at regional cities excluding London
- Footfall outside city centres experienced muted annual increases (+6.6% at market towns, +8.8% at historic towns)
- Pre-pandemic levels: Footfall remains -19.7% below in Central London, -14.5% across UK retail destinations
- Diane Wehrle, insights director at MRI Springboard, attributes the increase to employees returning to offices
Footfall across UK retail destinations surged +9.1% annually, with a week-on-week footfall boost of +1.6%, as office workers returned to city centres, according to Springboard’s data. High streets saw a +36.4% increase compared to 2022 levels after train strikes. Cities outside the capital also benefited, with annual footfall climbing +19% at regional cities excluding London. In comparison, footfall outside city centres experienced more muted annual increases: +6.6% at market towns and +8.8% at historic towns. Despite the bounce back, the gap to pre-pandemic levels remained as compared with 2019 levels, footfall was down -14.5%. Diane Wehrle, insights director at MRI Springboard, said: ‘Footfall across UK retail destinations rose last week from the week before with increases across all three destination types. However, last week was clearly a week when consumers returned to UK high streets following train strikes in the week before last. While the uplift in high street footfall from the week before was only in line with the average from the start of 2022, it was three times as great as in retail parks and shopping centres. On an annual basis too, the rise in footfall in high streets was nearly double that in shopping centres and 10 times that in retail parks.’
Factuality Level: 8
Factuality Justification: The article provides accurate and objective information about the increase in footfall in UK retail destinations based on data from Springboard. It presents relevant facts and figures, and includes expert commentary to provide context and analysis. However, it could be improved by providing more details on the train strikes’ impact and comparing the recovery of different types of retail locations.
Noise Level: 2
Noise Justification: The article provides relevant and accurate information about the increase in footfall in UK retail destinations, specifically focusing on high streets, regional cities, market towns, historic towns, and shopping centers. It also includes insights from an expert source. However, it could benefit from more context or analysis of the data to provide a deeper understanding of the trends and potential long-term implications.
Financial Relevance: Yes
Financial Markets Impacted: UK retail destinations and companies
Financial Rating Justification: The article discusses changes in footfall in UK retail destinations, which can impact consumer spending and businesses’ revenue, thus affecting financial markets.
Presence Of Extreme Event: No
Nature Of Extreme Event: Other
Impact Rating Of The Extreme Event: No
Extreme Rating Justification: There is no mention of an extreme event in this article.
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