Coronation set to boost footfall next month as retail goes extra mile

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Apr 25, 2023

With 6 May to see the first coronation of a British Monarch in 70 years, footfall to retail destinations is expected to get a boost and a new prediction is saying it will rise on coronation weekend.

That's according to MRI Springboard, which said it will rise 4% year on year with high streets expected to benefit from a 5% rise. The increase should be 4% for retail parks and 3% for shopping centres.

It will come as stores and landlords pull out all the stops to attract shoppers. 

Carnaby, for instance, has unveiled brand new ‘Coronation in Carnaby’ arches to celebrate the event with a glistening Union Flag and oversized crown suspended above the street. The giant light bulb art installations on Ganton Street have turned red, white and blue for the celebrations as well.

And on the day, there will be live roaming music from a brass band to entertain visitors. Celebrations throughout the public holiday weekend will include a number of restaurants and shops offering special promotions and in-store activations.

That kind of activity is being repeated across the country and especially in London where there will be plenty of visitors in town specifically for the historic event.

But it looks like those extra features will really be needed to help footfall on the day itself as MRI Springboard is also predicting that on coronation day – which is a Saturday – footfall will drop by 8%, compared to the previous Saturday.

That will come as the population watches it all on TV, but also because particularly strong footfall is expected for the regular May Day public holiday on the previous Monday and the special Monday holiday two days later.

Because of the coronation, there will be a second public holiday on 8 May and MRI springboard said high street retailers can expect a significant boost on that day with footfall rising 12% year on year. It should also rise 10% in shopping centres.

The forecast rise is anticipated to close the gap with 2019 levels to -10% across all UK retail destinations over the coronation weekend, with traffic to retail parks narrowing to just 3% below pre-pandemic levels.

Meanwhile, it also said that last week footfall increased by 1.7% on the week previous and was up 4.2% compared to 2022 levels. Weekly footfall also surged by 7.4% at MRI Springboard’s Central London ‘Back to the Office Benchmark’ as employees returned from the Easter break.