Retail specialist Springboard has released figures showing that on Black Friday itself, shopping centres saw an increase of 16.8%, while the high street footfall rose by 11.3%, and retail parks saw an increase of 7.1%.
The data has shown that high streets and retail parks saw footfall increases of 2.3% and 2.7% respectively during the Black Friday week, while shopping centre numbers increased by 5.2%.
Despite the increases, footfall was still 14.1% below the 2019 level for the week, and 17.5% lower on the day.
Diane Wehrle, Springboard’s insights director, explained: “UK retail destinations received a boost last week from Black Friday, with an increase in footfall from the week before that was twice as large as in the previous week.
“Footfall rose in all three destination types, but shopping centres fared particularly well, which is a result we would expect to see as shopping centres comprise a critical mass of larger retailers, the vast majority of which actively participate in the event.
“However, notably footfall still remained significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels, indicating consistent nervousness around spending in the current climate.”
