The impact of UK reopening on pedestrian flows across major cities

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: The impact of UK reopening on pedestrian flows across major cities.

Celebration was in the air as the UK welcomed the return of outdoor dining and non-essential retail on 12 April. The hospitality and retail sectors alike have been radically hit by the Covid-19 pandemic over the last year, but visitor recovery is evident as the UK’s roadmap to recovery has now entered its initial phases.

This is what has emerged from findings of my Mytraffic, a start-up specialising in the analysis of pedestrian and vehicle flow for companies and cities.

Through the statistical analysis of anonymous geolocation data, Mytraffic estimates the traffic of visitors, pedestrians or vehicles in a neighbourhood, a street or in front of a business commercial address, offering retailers, real estate players & cities specific and accurate data to ease and accelerate strategic decision-making. 

In cities like Manchester and Liverpool, with popular shopping and hospitality districts, these areas recovered up to 56%and 41% of their usual traffic respectively between April 12th and 14th, in comparison to low lockdown footfall figures of January 2021.

In contrast, London is experiencing a slower recovery in traffic during this first phase of the easing of restrictions, with an average footfall recovery of 17% from January 2021. Even the capital’s most popular districts such as Covent Garden, Camden and Oxford Street are still only at increases of 21%, 19% and 21% respectively in terms of footfall recovery. 

In the initial stages of the UK’s reopening, a clear difference can be observed between the footfall recovery in the capital and the UK’s other major cities. Indeed, by April 14th the UK’s national footfall sat at -33%, while London remained 25%lower at -58%.

Due to Mytraffic Analytics cutting edge software, all players in the industry can have access to accurate data measurement of pedestrian or vehicle traffic in a shopping area, in a shopping centre or in front of a specific commercial address.

Over 250 companies have already relied on the Mytraffic insights, globally, including renowned international brands such as McDonald’s, Subway, Jimmy Fairly, Cushman & Wakefield, BNP PARIBAS, Carrefour, Dr Martens, American Express, Tiffany & Co, Amorino, Steak’n’Shake, Ceetrus, and more.