UK footfall dramatically drops on King’s Coronation day while central London sees huge uplift

Footfall across all UK destinations fell -20.6% on the King’s Coronation day on Saturday 6 May 2023 compared to the previous Saturday, as Brits watched proceedings.

In sharp contrast, footfall in central London was heavily boosted – seeing an uplift of +21.5% between 10am and 3pm during the Coronation, and +56.2% in Knightsbridge, according to retail experts and data analysts MRI Springboard.

Other key findings include:

• Week-on-week footfall (30 April – 6 May 2023 compared to the previous week) remained almost level, dropping by just -0.2% on the previous week which was also aided by bank holiday activity. However, footfall increased by 3% on 2022 levels.
• Across all UK retail destinations on Saturday footfall was -21.8% the 2019 level, but in central London it was just -6.1% below 2019. and in non-retail areas of central London it was 10% higher than on the same day in 2019.
• Over the five hours between 10am and 3pm on Saturday, footfall in central London was on par with the 2019 level (+0.2%) and a staggering +32.9% higher than 2019 in non-retail areas of central London.

Diane Wehrle, Insights Director at MRI Springboard, said: “The Coronation - a once in a lifetime event for many - somewhat inevitably drew consumers away from stores and destinations on Saturday as many were watching the proceedings. Footfall across all UK retail destinations was -20.8% lower than the previous Saturday over the day as a whole, and -24.6% lower between 10am and 3pm when the ceremony and parade took place.

“However, there was a significant variation across different towns and cities with uplifts in footfall in many. In central London the increase in visitors to the capital coming to witness the event in person meant the drop in footfall over the day as a whole from the week before was far smaller at -9.3%, and footfall between 10am and 3pm was virtually on par with the previous week (-0.2%) and in non-retail areas of central London it was +8.5% higher than last week.

“In Knightsbridge - a location with an iconic British brand but more distant from Westminster Abbey so easier to access - footfall over the day as a whole was 9.7% higher than on the previous Saturday, and a staggering +57.7% higher than the week before over the five hours from 10am to 3pm.

“There were also uplifts in footfall in other towns and cities across the UK, as big screens were erected in some high streets to enable shoppers to watch the proceedings. In King Edward Street in Hull, footfall was 3.9% higher than last Saturday between 10am and 3pm, and in New George Street in Plymouth footfall was 7.8% higher over those five hours. In Market Square in Sunderland footfall was -20.5% lower during the event itself, but 11.9% higher over the 24-hour period.”