UK retail parks weather lockdown better than high streets
Retail footfall across the UK fell to the lowest levels on record in March, although retail parks were better able to weather the storm compared with high streets and shopping centres.
UK shopper numbers plummeted 44.7% in March due to the government’s mandatory lockdown, which restricted movement and forced all non-essential stores to close, according to data by the British Retail Consortium and ShopperTrak.
In the three weeks preceding the lockdown UK footfall declined 17.7% on average. During the two weeks under which the quarantine measures were introduced footfall collapsed 83.2%.
Due to wide open spaces compared with other locations and a higher proportion of supermarkets, retail parks saw footfall hold best during the period, down 23.5% year on year.
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