Easter shopping boosts April footfall

Footfall in April rose by 7.2% month-on-month, following a dip of 2.8% in March.

Data from MRI Springboard showed that the week of Good Friday and Easter Saturday saw footfall increase by 14.2% week-on-week.

However the following week saw a subsequent fall of 10.2%, with footfall hampered by Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.

Year-on-year footfall in April increased by 4.7%, compared to 0.7% in March.

The gap to pre-Pandemic footfall levels in 2019 reached -12%, an improvement on the -14.9% recorded in March.

Springboard had predicted in March that footfall would rise in April due to Easter Shopping, and now expects retailers to benefit from the three May bank holidays.

Diane Wehrle, Springboard insights director, remained cautious:

“An increase in the vacancy rate to 11% in April from 10.2% in January demonstrates that high streets remain challenged by tight trading conditions, which has resulted in the closure of some businesses.

“The hope is that the three bank holidays in May – one of which surrounds the once-in-a-lifetime event of the King’s coronation – will deliver a further fillip to retail destinations and stores.”