Bonanza on the high street as the number of shoppers is set to skyrocket this week with footfall set to rise by a fifth across town centres
The number of shoppers visiting high streets is set to rocket this week in a major boost for retailers.
Footfall is forecast to rise by a fifth across town centres, retail parks and shopping centres compared with the week before, according to retail analysts Springboard.
The surge in business will come after Covid restrictions such as mask-wearing and social distancing are dropped in England from today.
Footfall is forecast to rise by a fifth across town centres, retail parks and shopping centres compared with the week before, according to retail analysts Springboard.
The number of people visiting shopping districts will only rise by around eight per cent today as many workers also head back to the office.
But it will rocket by 32 per cent on Friday and 40 per cent on Saturday, Springboard predicts.
Diane Wehrle, of Springboard, said: ‘With summer holiday commencing and many opting for a summer staycation in the UK, footfall will continue to rise throughout July and into August as many look to enjoy the good weather.’ Springboard’s estimates are for the UK, even though it is only England that is fully reopening on ‘Freedom Day’. But English footfall is around 85 per cent of the UK’s total.
Queues form outside the high street store of Sports Direct in Southampton. The number of people visiting shopping districts will only rise by around eight per cent today as many workers also head back to the office
The hoped-for boost came as it emerged that more than 9,000 pubs, bars and restaurants have closed in the last year – the equivalent of 25 per day.
The number of licensed premises has fallen from 115,000 in June 2020 to 106,000, meaning the sector has shrunk by almost 8 per cent in 12 months, according to analysts CGA and AlixPartners.
Experts blamed the ‘pingdemic’ that has seen alerts compel thousands to stay at home. But in much-needed good news, CGA and AlixPartners said 11,928 premises prevented from trading by the table service-only and rule-of-six restrictions will be able to reopen today.