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LONDON, April 26 (Reuters) - The number of people out
shopping across Britain fell 3.4% in the week to April 24 after
surging in the previous week when non-essential stores reopened
in England and Wales after three months of lockdown, researcher
Springboard said on Monday.
It said shopper numbers, or footfall, fell 0.8% from the
previous week on high streets, 3.5% in retail parks and 8.4% in
shopping centres.
Footfall had jumped 88% in the week to April 17 versus the
previous week.
"Momentum in the recovery of retail slowed slightly last
week, with footfall across UK retail destinations dipping
slightly from the previous week when non-essential stores
reopened," said Springboard insights director, Diane Wehrle.
She noted that the previous week had also benefited from it
being the last week of the school Easter break which meant many
parents were on leave and visited stores and retail destinations
as a family.
Wehrle said a positive factor was that the gap in footfall
last week from the same week in 2019 (pre-pandemic) continued to
narrow.
Footfall last week was 19.9% below the 2019 level,
noticeably better than the previous peak of down 25% at the end
of August 2020.
The pandemic has hammered Britain's retail sector, leaving
gaping holes on the main shopping streets and costing tens of
thousands of jobs.
(Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Paul Sandle and Susan
Fenton)