UK retail footfall is on a roll in February, enjoying a fourth consecutive week of growth across all UK retail destinations, according to MRI Software’s latest data.

Last week alone (17-23 February), overall footfall increased 8.2% compared to the previous week, with high streets leading the way (+11.6%), followed by shopping centres (+9%). Retail parks however, saw only a marginal uplift of 0.1%.

Year-on-year footfall levels also remained higher across the board, though the shift in timings of this year’s half-term may have influenced these trends, MRI noted.

Across the week, footfall rose daily in all UK retail destinations, aside from Friday (-4.6%) which coincided with a change in weather conditions. High streets and shopping centres saw double digit rises compared to the week before on three out of the seven days suggesting shoppers “were out in full force making the most of the half-term activities”.

Monday and Tuesday were the strongest days with an average rise of 20.9% recorded in all UK retail destinations. This was much higher in high streets and shopping centres at +25.5% and +22.3%, respectively.

Central London witnessed the strongest week on both a week-on-week and year-on-year basis followed by historic and coastal towns, suggesting day trips or holidays by the coast were popular, especially as much of the week saw mild weather conditions.

Regionally, the East of England (+11.3%) and Greater London (+12.9%) were the clear winners with double-digit rises recorded week on week. Scotland, however, saw footfall decline 4.4% last week from the week before and down by 1.1% from 2024 levels.

MRI Software’s Central London ‘Back to Office’ benchmark also revealed strong trends week-on-week, however much of this may also have been driven by visitors to the capital during half-term. Aside from Scotland, all regions reported positive trends with Greater London and the East of England seeing double-digit rises compared to the week before.