Retail and restaurant destinations across the UK experienced a drop off in footfall during King Charles III’s Coronation as poor weather kept people at home, research revealed.
During the Saturday of the King’s Coronation footfall in retail areas dropped by 20.8% week-on-week and by 24.6% during the hours of the ceremony and parade, data from Springboard found.
Compared to the same date last year, retail footfall dropped by 13.2%, while in central London figures rose by 11.3% and by 24.3% in non-shopping areas.
During the ceremony, footfall in non-retail areas jumped by 8.5% week-on-week, Springboard said.
Knightsbridge was one of the busiest areas on Saturday, as it attracted footfall 57% greater than when compared to the same period the week before.
Restaurants saw a small uptick, despite expectations of a Coronation boom, with transactions at venues just over 4% higher than the year before, according to figures from Barclays.
Bars and pubs fared better though and because sites were allowed to stay open later over the bank holiday it meant transactions jumped 26.7% annually.
“Business will be hopeful for another uptick in sales across the Spring Bank Holiday weekend later this month,” said Marc Pettican, head of Barclaycard payments.
While most retail spaces stayed quiet on Saturday, some high streets saw jumps in footfalls due to setting up big screens for communities to watch.
Town centres in Hull and Plymouth saw footfall increase week-on-week on the Coronation Saturday by 3.9% and 7.8% respectively.
In Sunderland’s Market Square, footfall fell by 20.5% during the actual event but experienced close to a 12% boost throughout the day.