The following analysis contains data for the devices at Barnard Marcus, Dorking Sports Centre, S.C. Fuller, The Optical Studio and Westcott & Williams.
- Total footfall in November 2021 across these five devices decreased by 4.4% from the previous month, largely caused by a drop in pedestrian traffic at The Optical Store – the device which generally witnesses the highest number of passers-by – especially during the first week of the month compared with the final week of October.
- The Artisan Market on Sunday, 7 November failed to provide its usual uplift – footfall on this day was actually 35.1% lower than the average of the other three Sundays in November which is in complete contrast to historical figures.
- There was a clear upward trend in footfall as the month progressed which will have contributed toward this.
- Footfall is likely to increase further during December as we continue the run-up to Christmas, although will be adversely affected by Christmas Day and Boxing Day – for which there will be little footfall due to the closure of shops and leisure centres.
Weekly Footfall Profile
- Figure 1 shows how weekly footfall has compared year-on-year for the month of November.
- Although there remains a fairly even spread of footfall across weekdays, there was an increase in weekend pedestrian traffic during November compared to both October 2021 and the equivalent month in 2020.
- The proportion of footfall registered on Saturdays during November 2021 was 1.8% higher than in November 2020 and up by 2.2% on Sundays as work commitments forced more people to shop during the weekends.
- Sunday remains as the day of the week with the lowest footfall, accounting for 13% of weekly footfall.
Overall Footfall Volume
- Figure 2 shows the weekly footfall throughout November across the five active footfall devices.
- As per previous months, the Optical Studio again witnessed the largest footfall of the four active devices for all weeks during November, registering approximately twice as much activity than any other individual device.
- However, this particular device witnessed a fall of 8.8% from October’s figures.
- The device at Dorking Sports Centre registered a 0.3% increase compared with counts for the previous month.
- Figure 3 shows the weekly footfall summary and how total footfall has trended in November 2021.
- There was a steady increase in total footfall for every week from the first week of November, increasing from 46,232 in Week 44 to 55,462 in Week 48.
Week on Week Change in Footfall
- Figure 4 shows the percentage change in footfall week-on-week during November 2021 for each individual device.
- We witnessed more volatility in terms of week-on-week changes than the preceding months.
- The biggest week-on-week change was a 29.9% increase at S.C. Fuller in Week 47, although the same device also registered a 12.8% reduction in footfall the following week.
- The four other devices each registered a week-on-week increase in Week 48, with footfall at Barnard Marcus rising by 22.9% and Dorking Sports Centre increasing by 21.3%.
- The device at Westcott & Williams was the only device to register an increase in footfall during Week 44.
- Figure 5 shows the week-on-week change in footfall across all devices in Dorking during November.
- There was a week-on-week increase in total footfall throughout the whole of November as the need to fulfil Christmas wish lists intensified while the month progressed.
- The largest increases were 5.7% in Week 45 and 5.6% in Week 48 – the latter also being the effect of the arrival of monthly pay packets towards the end of the month, leading to a greater capacity to spend in the shops.
