The following analysis contains data for the devices at S.C. Fuller (reopened 15th June), Calliope (reopened 15th June) and Renee’s Health Food Store (remained open throughout lockdown).
- June 15th (start of week 25) was the date where lockdown restrictions were lifted most dramatically with non-essential retail being allowed to reopen, bringing footfall up in high street locations.
- This was seen most dramatically at the Calliope device which saw a 121.1% increase in footfall in this week.
- On average across all Dorking devices the week-on-week increase was 35.6% in week 25, which is similar to that of the GB average of 34% for that week.
- These footfall figures must be put into context as sales conversion rates will be much higher. With the complications of queuing outside, health concerns and people still being advised to stay at home, shoppers who did come out were much more likely to make a purchase with trips being more functional than leisurely.
Key Retail Metrics – Proportion of hospitality
- With the majority of non-essential retail permitted to reopen in June, one of the key sectors that still remains largely affected by lockdown measures is the hospitality and leisure sector – restaurants, pubs, hotels, cafés etc. – with these businesses not being allowed to reopen until the 4th of July.
- Areas with a higher proportions of leisure businesses were therefore more at risk during this period with many of the businesses unable to fully reopen.
- The proportion of hospitality businesses in Dorking currently stands at 18.6%, compared to 25.9% seen in the South East and 29.6% seen nationally.
- This means that Dorking town centre is less exposed to the risks associated with the hospitality industry compared to other town centres.
Overall footfall volume
- Figure 2 shows the weekly footfall throughout the month of June for all active footfall devices.
- The volume of footfall increased throughout June, particularly in week 25, and dropped slightly in week 26 before continuing to rise again in the following week.
Week-on-week change in footfall
- Figure 3 shows that throughout June, footfall increased in the weeks leading up to week 25, and then increased dramatically in week 25 due to non-essential retail being reopened.
- Footfall then declined slightly in week 26 perhaps as the excitement of the shops reopening started to fade.
- Despite this small decline, footfall in week 27 picked up again with an 8.5% week-on-week increase.
Daily footfall profile
- Figure 4 shows the average footfall profile throughout the day at Calliope in 2019, and in June 2020.
- The 2019 graph appears to have a small peak around 10-11am and then a slightly smaller peak between 1-2pm. In June 2020, the curve looks very different with a peak throughout the day now at 11am-12pm.
- The shape is also different in terms of the ‘width’ of the curve with the June 2020 profile looking considerably narrower.
- This is due to reduced opening hours in many of the shops.
- In first half of the month, many shops were still not open and so many passers-by were not heading to go shopping but were out for other reasons such as going on a leisurely walk which also impacts the shape of the daily footfall curve.
- Another notable feature of the June 2020 footfall curve is the reduction in footfall into the evening. Throughout the whole of June, no leisure operators were open meaning no restaurants, pubs, bars or other late-night activities, resulting in minimal late-night footfall.
Footfall across days of the week
- The chart above shows that the weekly spread of footfall changed considerably in June 2020 compared with the 2019 average at the three devices.
- In 2019, footfall picked up slowly throughout the week reaching a peak on Friday, then dropping on Saturday and falling even further on Sunday.
- In June 2020, footfall was highest on Monday and Tuesday before falling slightly and remaining steady until Saturday, dropping considerably on Sunday.
- Weekday vs. weekend footfall is similar when comparing the 2019 average with June 2020, with the main differences between the spread of footfall across weekdays.
- This could be a result of those visiting the shops (in the latter half of the month) or walking going at times of the week when they thought it would be less busy.
Weekly footfall compared to previous month
- The chart above compares weekly footfall in June at S.C. Fuller and Renee’s Health Food Store to the weekly footfall seen 5 weeks prior.
- With non-essential retail being able to reopen in June, and footfall generally increasing throughout lockdown, we see that there are large increases for each week in June.
- In week 25 (the week when shops were allowed to reopen), the total footfall across these 2 devices was 66.1% higher than in week 20 when lockdown restrictions were still requiring shops to remain closed.
