Monthly Footfall Summary – May 2021

The following analysis contains data for the devices at Westdaw (64-65), Bernard Marcus, Dorking Light & Shade, Renee’s Health Food Store and The Optical Studio.

• Footfall in May was boosted by the reopening of indoor hospitality and venues such as cinemas. Footfall was up 27.4% in the week of the reopening, with footfall now at a similar level to October 2020.
• However, footfall did drop the week after, with operators and occupiers having to work hard to keep customers returning. Unfavourable weather and the bank holiday might have had an impact as consumers were able to take trips away from their home.
• With the delay in the reopening for a further four weeks, footfall is expected to remain similar in June 2021.

Weekly Footfall Profile

• Figure 1 shows how weekly footfall has compared year on year for the month of May.
• In May, footfall started to rebalance across the whole week, as people spread their shopping trips throughout the week.
• Footfall on Monday in 2021 was 3% higher than in the average day in 2020. This could be due to the continued ‘work from home’ advice meaning less people are commuting in the week.
• The reopening of shops had a significant impact on footfall on Saturday. 19% of the weekly footfall occurred on this day compared to just 16% in May 2020 when shops were still closed after the first lockdown.

Overall Footfall Volume

• Figure 2 shows the weekly footfall throughout May across for the active footfall devices.
• Westdaw saw footfall increase dramatically in Week 20, with all devices seeing a boost in Week 20 as indoor hospitality was allowed.
• Footfall did decline in the week after, with colder and wetter weather having an impact on footfall levels across Dorking.
• Figure 3 shows the weekly footfall summary: footfall started to increase in Week 20, with footfall now averaging above 60,000 for the active devices, which is comparable to footfall in October, prior to the national month-long lockdown in November.
• Footfall still has some way to go to reach the levels of August 2020, when footfall across the active devices hit 75,000 per week.

Week on Week Change in Footfall

• Figure 4 shows the percentage change in footfall week-on-week in May 2021, depicting a rise in footfall across all devices in Week 20 when indoor hospitality, exercise group classes and hotel accommodation could reopen.
• Interestingly, there was a drop in footfall in the week prior to the reopening, as consumers held back spend for the new phase of the reopening roadmap.
• Only The Optical Studio and Westcott & Williams saw footfall remain the same in Week 21, the week after the reopening. The challenge for occupiers will be in continuing to attract shoppers back to the high street.
• Figure 5 shows this with the weekly footfall rising only in Week 20, with footfall down each of the other weeks in the month. This was despite the warmer weather during the bank holiday in Week 22.

 

Raw Data

LDC_Dorking_May_Footfall_Dashboard

 

How It Works

Footfall counters are installed at the following locations in Dorking:

1. The Optical Studio, 62 High Street
2. S C Fuller, 28-30 South Street
3. Dorking Light and Shade, 80 South Street
4. Places for People Leisure, Reigate Road
5. Barnard Marcus, 238 High Street
6. Calliope, Unit 3, St. Martins Walk, High Street
7. Renee’s Health Food Shop, 37-39 High Street
8. Westdaw Menswear, 64-65 West Street
9. Westcott and Williams, 41 West Street

This technology uses a network of sensors installed in shops to track the number of people walking past a location across the width of a pavement.

Each sensor is manually calibrated on installation and an algorithm used to account for each specific location.

 

Previous Months Footfall Data

2021

April 2021

March 2021

February 2021

January 2021

2020

December 2020

November 2020

October 2020

September 2020

August 2020

July 2020

June 2020

May 2020

April 2020

March 2020

February 2020

January 2020