‘Shift in behaviour’ as footfall rose on New Year’s eve

High street footfall rose on New Year’s Eve, says recent data, suggesting a “shift in behaviour” from the cautious attitude of shoppers that was seen ahead of Christmas.

According to data from industry analyst Springboard, footfall increased by 5.2 per cent on UK high streets on Dec 31 compared with a week earlier on Christmas Eve. In central London alone, footfall surged by 54.8 per cent on New Year’s Eve from a week earlier.

This is in contrast to pre-pandemic levels when high street footfall across the UK declined by 9 per cent on New Year’s Eve 2019 from Christmas Eve.

Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard, said, “Despite the well documented cautiousness of shoppers in the run up to and over Christmas this year, it appears that on New Year’s Eve there was a shift in behaviour, with footfall in high streets increasing from the week before (Christmas Eve).

“Not only was this the only day last week when high street footfall was higher than the week before, but it was also in sharp contrast with New Year’s Eve 2019, when high street footfall was lower on New Year’s Eve than on Christmas Eve.

“The winners on New Year’s Eve were central London and historic town centres, where footfall rose significantly from the week before, whilst declining in smaller local high streets.”

Meanwhile, footfall across all UK retail destinations over the week from Boxing Day was 24.5 per cent lower than the same week in 2019, but 78 per cent higher than the same period in 2020 when strict Covid restrictions were in place, the figures showed.