UK Local Retail Centres – Week 11 2025: Footfall Retail Performance Update

The latest data from The Benchmark highlights a slight week-on-week improvement in UK local retail centres, which recorded an average daily footfall of 13,300 for the week ending March 23, 2025. This represents a 6.1% increase over the previous week, despite a 14.9% decline compared to the same time last year. Shoppers are now spending an average of 93 minutes per visit, though this represents a slight softening of dwell time by 2.1% over one week, despite a strong long-term trend of increased time spent in centres.

Regional breakdowns further underscore the evolving retail dynamics. In England, the centres experienced an average of 13,400 visitors daily with a similar 6% weekly growth and an average visit duration of 94 minutes, even though the annual comparison shows a 13.8% decline. Welsh retail hubs performed notably well with an 11.5% gain, drawing in 10,400 daily visitors. Meanwhile, Scottish centres also saw robust footfall with 11,700 daily visitors and a 10.6% increase week-on-week; however, they recorded the shortest dwell times at 85 minutes, a figure that softened by 10.5% even amidst a year-on-year boost in footfall.

Industry insights reflect the significance of these trends. Joe Capocci of Huq Industries noted "The striking weekly improvements in Wales and highlighted evolving consumer trends significantly impacting local retail spaces."

Overall, while the year-on-year figures may appear challenging, the week-on-week growth suggests optimism and points to an evolving landscape where local retail centres are gradually regaining momentum with increasing visitor engagement.

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