Beth Doherty
Latest figures show that Salisbury has seen the most impressive recovery since non-essential retail reopened on Monday 12th April 2021.
Salisbury beat competition from Harrow, Worcester and Merry Hill in Dudley to take the top spot, as consumers continue to shop locally rather than visiting larger cities.
The top 10 ‘bounce-back’ retail locations include:
- Salisbury
- Harrow
- Worcester
- Dudley – Merry Hill
- Wakefield
- Harrogate
- Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- Falkirk
- Brent Cross
- Kingston upon Thames
To explain the results, Oliver Hillier, senior retail analyst at Ipsos, said: “Our Retail Recovery Index shows that, after a difficult period of lockdown, shoppers are keen to return to high streets.
“The success of smaller cities like Salisbury also highlights that many shoppers have continued to visit stores close to their homes, rather than visiting major cities. However, the attributes that made these cities shopping destinations remain as we expect to see their footfall levels rise over the coming months.”
The Retail Recovery Index tracks levels of footfall across the UK following the re-opening of non-essential retail on 12 April.
The data is constructed from the number of shoppers entering stores using a nationally representative sample of over 4000 retail outlets across the UK, excluding the grocery, convenience and minor retail service sectors.
Andy Munns
