Liverpool One, the major retail and entertainment destination, said it’s expecting a major boost to footfall during the spring/early summer second quarter trading period.

A series of large-scale events in the city are expected to attract visitors from across the globe, with an additional 100,000 predicted at the already popular city centre venue.

Taylor Swift and P!NK will be performing at Anfield Stadium on 13-16 June and 24-25 June, respectively, while Comic Con will take place at ACC Liverpool from 4 May and the trio of high-profile events are expected to drive thousands more visitors to Liverpool in the coming months with the centre planning to take full advantage of the occasions.

Iain Finlayson, Estate Director at Liverpool One, said:: “Last year, we saw how the city transformed, as Liverpool hosted the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine. The legacy from this is an even stronger partnership with the wider city and our lasting appeal to new audiences. 

“Comic Con is a key example of this collaborative way of working with large events that come to the city, and we’re thrilled to be playing such a major role in building the excitement in the run up to the event.

“We have an incredibly packed few months coming up and we’re confident that we will continue bucking national footfall and sales trends.”

The predicted increase follows a strong first quarter with a 3.3% year-on-year uplift in footfall “significantly outperforming UK benchmarks”, according to latest figures from Shoppertrak.

Continuing the upward trend, sales at Liverpool One have also risen 2.6% so far this year, bucking the national trend between January and March, according to the latest British Retail Consortium figures.

A highlight included ‘Super Saturday’ – the day before Mother’s Day, hailed as one of the key factors in Liverpool One’s success during the latest three-month period, with a 30% increase in visitors “making it the busiest day of the year so far”. The event “is fast-becoming the busiest shopping day outside of the Christmas period for beauty-led items,” we’re told.

Also boosting the retail and entertainment’s popularity has been a series of pop-up activations, including fashion brand Sisters & Seekers; sports/leisure brand Arne; Space NK’s pop-up beauty of Sol de Janeiro; and pre-loved luxury reseller Luxe Collective.

Meanwhile, menswear and jewellery sales soared by more than 50% between January and March, compared to the same period last year.

Finlayson added: “We have seen an incredibly strong start to 2024, which is a true testament to the strength of brands we have and those choosing Liverpool One to open new stores or for pop-ups.

“We have seen an overwhelming response to brands offering customers something fresh and new, encouraging new visitors to explore what we have to offer here, so we are really looking forward to what else we can bring to Liverpool One this year.”