Higher tiers hit footfall

UK footfall saw a 5% drop this week as tier 2 and 3 restrictions were applied throughout the country, new data from Wireless Social has found.

In its latest footfall tracker, the wifi solutions provider reported footfall across the country dip to 47% below pre-lockdown February levels last weekend (17-18 October), down from the previous weekend’s level of -42% (10-11 October).

As London entered tier 2 last week, footfall dropped on Saturday (17 October) to -45% of February’s levels, down 4% on the previous Saturday’s levels (10 October, -41%).

It was a similar story in Birmingham, also in tier 2, with the city seeing significant footfall drops on both Saturday (from -35% to -48%) and Sunday (-26% to -53%).

In Liverpool, the first city to be placed under tier 3 restrictions from 14 October, footfall dropped significantly, with traffic dropping by 16% week-on-week to -65% last Saturday.

Since Scottish restrictions were announced on 9 October – putting the country’s central belt into total lockdown until 2 November – Glasgow’s footfall has continued to drop.

Prior to the restrictions on Saturday 3 October, footfall in the city was at -46% of February’s baseline, dropping to -63% on Saturday 10 October, and -68% on Saturday 17 October.

Edinburgh saw a slightly less dramatic drop, falling by just 3% week-on-week to -60% on 17 October.

The trend continued across the country’s other major cities, with footfall dipping in Manchester (down 6% week-on-week), Leeds (down 7%), Bristol (down 1%) and Cardiff (down 3%).