Jubilee boosts UK footfall by 17.7 percent

The Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II brought a surge in visitors to cities and towns across the UK, as the nation celebrated the 70th anniversary of her accession.

Springboard’s Jubilee weekend footfall figures show footfall was up 17.7 percent over the Bank Holiday weekend compared to the previous week. High streets performed exceptionally, with Jubilee events and street parties pushing footfall up 22.6 percent versus 14.8 percent in shopping centres and 10.2 percent in retail parks.

Retailers certainly benefited from the Jubilee boost, with Springboard citing strong sales results for multiple categories, however for all the positive news, the results belie the underlying cost pressures facing household consumers. The Consumer Prices Index (CPIH) shows inflation ose by 7.8 percent in the 12 months to April 2022, up from 6.2 percent in March. This is the highest recorded 12-month inflation rate in the National Statistics series, which began in January 2006.

The warm weather boosted footfall in coastal towns, which saw exceptional performance on Thursday as it was also half term.

On Friday and Saturday, footfall was lower than on the same days in the previous week (-6.7 percent on Friday and -10.4 percent on Saturday), as shoppers turned their attention to more local jubilee celebrations.