London is back: Footfall boost as Brits return to city centres
London enjoyed a 6.5 per cent boost in shoppers last week, ahead of national figures for increased footfall.
Office workers have returned in droves this month while international tourism to the city is slowly picking too.
Retail experts Springboard said footfall across UK retail destinations rose 2.7 per cent last week from the week before.
In both outer London and in market towns across the UK, footfall rose just 1.5 per cent, signially a huge return to city centres.
Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard said: “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.
“In areas of central London with a large proportion of office rather than retail space, footfall rose by more than in central London as a whole.
It comes as pub companies have pointed to increased trade in Canada and other office hubs in recent weeks.
Wehrle added: “The greater rise in footfall in high streets meant that the gap from the 2019 level narrowed significantly, and is now a third less than in shopping centres.”