Research recently commissioned by LOVE Loughborough BID helps in understanding Loughborough’s town centre footfall and foot-flow during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research gives in-depth insights into the impact of lockdowns and restrictions on the use of Loughborough town centre whilst also offering positive signs about the potential to recover. The findings offer insights for other towns about the impacts of COVID-19 on customer behaviour.
Data showing number & frequency of visits
The research undertaken by the People & Places Partnership, uses GEO-Sense data collected over the last year by footfall monitoring experts, Proximity Futures. The data shows the number and frequency of visits made by visitors to Loughborough town centre between autumn 2019 and 2020. It also reveals changing patterns in how customers are moving between different zones of the town centre during the day and as part of the town’s evening economy.
Promising signs for recovery
Whilst the overall trends from the analysis indicate that footfall in the 4th quarter of 2020 had fallen to 44% of its 2019 level, there were also some promising signs from the apparent potential for trade in Loughborough town centre to recover. The data indicated that around 8% more customers were visiting the town centre weekly in 2020 compared to autumn 2019. Equally there was also a small increase in the proportion of new visitors to Loughborough town centre in 2020 compared to twelve months before and people were also dwelling in town slightly longer.
Positive daytime & evening trends
Decreases in daytime footfall caused by changing restrictions, also mask some positive trends when customers have more freedom. The day before the November lockdown, for example, daytime footfall levels reached 65% of the 2019 levels. Similarly, while the evening economy has seen the biggest decline in footfall to a third of 2019 levels, on the Friday before Loughborough moved into tier 3 at the end of October, for example, footfall levels rose to nearly half (48%) of those experienced for that same night in 2019.
Lisa Brown, LOVE Loughborough BID Manager, commented “It was a valuable opportunity for us to see Loughborough’s data in greater detail, especially visualising the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the town’s footfall. The level of detail has given us a broader understanding of visitor behaviour, and how we can plan forward with the safe re-opening of Loughborough town centre.”
Proximity Futures provide a wealth of footfall and foot-flow data through their GEO-Sense and Elephant WiFi systems in an incresing number of towns. The work in Loughborough with People & Places has helped them find new ways to get even more out of this data. “We have been working with Loughborough BID since June of 2016″, explained Dan Coombs, UK Sales Director for Proximity Futures. “In that time we have collected a wealth of data that is used regularly with our standard reports. However, we were very keen to see what Chris Wade from People & Places would find through his in-depth analysis of the data. The results are fantastic and it gives the BID some really useful insights to feedback to their stakeholders. We look forward to seeing more from it.”
Chris Wade, from town centre specialists People & Places, commented, “It was great to look at the detailed data collected in Loughborough and get a true sense of how town centre customers are changing their habits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fluctuations in footfall caused by changing restrictions, mask some positive trends. It was very encouraging to see footfall reach two-thirds of the 2019 levels, when restrictions were eased. This shows the potential for a town like Loughborough to bounce back by providing a safe and warm welcome back for its customers.”
What happens next
This quarterly analysis will be used routinely by LOVE Loughborough to aid its understanding and continued work with businesses and partners to manage COVID-19 recovery and the wider revitalisation of the town centre. LOVE Loughborough BID will commission regular quarterly footfall analysis to help guide this work.
Proximity Futures will continue to support GEO-Sense monitoring and town centre Elephant WiFi including in the town, providing monthly summary reports. Access to current data and bespoke reporting is available to LOVE Loughborough and its partners through a dedicated portal.
People & Places will undertake regular quarterly analysis of footfall for LOVE Loughborough using the GEO-Sense data. They are available to comment on all aspects of this analysis or subsequent recovery planning, as need arises. This includes referencing the national revitalising town centres toolkit that People & Places recently updated for the Local Government Association to take account of COVID-19 recovery planning.
More information
Download a free copy of the report on Loughborough’s footfall analysis or read the Local Government Association’s case study on tracking the impacts of COVID-19 using GEO-Sense data for Nuneaton.
Find out about our people, places & proximity services developed jointly with Proximity Futures to help place-leaders understand more about managing and monitoring returning town centre footfall.
Learn about People & Places’ joined-up approach to revitalisation provided by our ‘specialities’ in our guide to ‘‘bringing facts and faces to town centres’.
Get an understanding of our joined-up approach to town centre recovery and revitalisation, access the revised version of Local Government Association’s national revitalising town centres on-line toolkit prepared by People & Places.
Keep up-to-date with information on how place-leaders can respond to the COVID-19 crisis, keep an eye on our beyond COVID-19 page and links.
