Easter is washout for many UK stores

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Apr 2, 2018

Predictions that Easter footfall to UK stores could have been up or down depending on the weather turned into the worst possible news when the weather failed to play ball.

Springboard, the specialist research firm that tracks visitor traffic, said what could have been the best retail weekend since Christmas actually turned out to be a big disappointment. There was rain in many areas across the UK and while this helped drive shoppers into covered malls, many simply didn't bother going out.

On high streets, footfall dropped nearly 10% on Good Friday and was down almost 7% on Saturday. And on Sunday morning, footfall to high streets was down 12% year-on-year. Overall, footfall to all UK shopping destinations was in negative territory.

That would have been hugely disappointing for the fashion sector with heavy discounts being relied on to lure shoppers in. It was also hoped that Easter would kickstart what has been a week spring fashion season so far.

But as mentioned, shopping centres/malls that are undercover fared better, as did retail parks. 

Fashion Network’s team said the Bluewater centre in Kent was busy on Saturday morning, although not as crowded as might have been expected and almost all stores were offering money off, from a basic 20%, to 40% of all full-price jeans at Gap.