Retail footfall plunges amid widespread strike action

Mass walkouts caused an 11.1% fall in footfall to noon compared with the same day last week, according to figures from analysts MRI Springboard.

Striking members of the National Education Union on Piccadilly march to a rally in Trafalgar Square, central London, in a long-running dispute over pay (Aaron Chown/PA) (PA Wire)

Shopper footfall plunged on Wednesday as retailers suffered the effects of widespread strike action.

Mass walkouts caused an 11.1% fall in footfall to noon compared with the same day last week, according to figures from analysts MRI Springboard.

Retail parks have been the hardest hit with a drop in footfall of 21.3% compared with last Wednesday, while city centres suffered a 9.6% fall.

The exception was central London, where footfall rose by 7.1%.

This decline is even more significant than usual as it comes on the back of reduced footfall last Wednesday, when customer activity declined by 13.9% from the week before due to severe weather

Diane Wehrle, MRI Springboard

Up to half a million junior doctors, teachers, civil servants, lecturers, London Underground drivers, BBC journalists and Amazon workers took industrial action.

The disputes are over pay, jobs, pensions, conditions and cuts, with warnings of more strikes if they are not resolved.

Diane Wehrle, insights director at MRI Springboard, said: “Footfall has been severely impacted by the strikes today, with a decline in footfall from last Wednesday of 11.1%.

“This decline is even more significant than usual as it comes on the back of reduced footfall last Wednesday, when customer activity declined by 13.9% from the week before due to severe weather.”