Footfall up 6.5 per cent in central London as office workers return

Shopper numbers in central London rose 6.5 per cent last week compared with a week before, adding to evidence that workers were returning to the office, retail intelligence company Springboard said on Monday.

In central areas of the capital dominated by offices rather than stores, footfall rose 8.8 per cent in the week to Saturday, Springboard said, with gains recorded across all high streets on Monday to Friday before dipping on Saturday.

“High street footfall was undoubtedly supported by a shift back to the office, demonstrated by a greater uplift from the week before in central London and large city centres outside of the capital, than in smaller high streets and in outer London,” said Springboard’s insights director Diane Wehrle.

While shopper numbers in all destinations were 18.4 per cent higher last week than the same week a year ago, they were still 15.2 per cent lower than pre-pandemic levels, Springboard said.