MRI Software news and archive

UK retail footfall rebounds in February, driven by seasonal events

New data from MRI Software shows UK retail footfall rebounded strongly in February, with visits rising month-on-month as shoppers returned after the typical January slowdown. According to the company’s latest analysis, footfall across all UK retail destinations increased 9.4 percent compared with January 2026. The rise marks a clear recovery...

Retail

January retail footfall shows seasonal slowdown, stable YoY

New data from MRI Software has pointed to a familiar post-festive slowdown in UK retail footfall in January, with visits falling sharply month on month but remaining relatively steady compared to last year. According to the platform, footfall across all UK retail destinations declined 20.8 percent month on month in January, following a strong...

Retail

UK welcomes unexpected footfall uptick in December, Boxing Day leads the way

New figures by MRI Software have shown an unexpected uptick in footfall for December, with Boxing Day driving the way. According to the platform, the month’s footfall saw the “biggest annual boost since 2011”, with visits up 1.3 percent year-on-year. MRI said activity was driven by a surge in evening and night-time activity (+5.3 percent after...

Retail

Festive footfall sees YoY uptick as activity intensifies ahead of Christmas

New figures by MRI Software have shown a year-on-year increase in footfall across all UK retail destinations as shopping activity intensified ahead of a later Christmas Day. According to the platform, footfall rose 3.9 percent compared to the same week last year, despite declining 12.8 percent week-on-week, reflecting the disruption of Christmas...

Retail

Footfall rises ahead of festive period despite adverse weather conditions

New figures by MRI Software have shown an increase in footfall over the past week, despite adverse weather conditions temporarily discouraging travel. According to the data platform, for the period December 7 to 13, footfall across all UK retail destinations rose 3.1 percent compared to the week prior, largely driven by a 5 percent uptick in...

Retail

UK footfall rises into Black Friday, yet caution persists

UK retail destinations saw their second week of momentum heading into Black Friday, with footfall rising 6.7 percent week-on-week, according to MRI Software. High streets led the way with an 8.2 percent uplift, followed by shopping centres (+6 percent) and retail parks (+4.1 percent), reflecting renewed consumer demand for in-person shopping...

Retail

Storm Benjamin impacts weekly footfall, high streets see sharp downturn

Overall footfall across UK retail destinations fell 1.9 percent from October 19 to 25 compared to the week prior after Storm Benjamin impacted activity throughout most of the country. According to new figures by MRI Software, high streets were hit hardest, with footfall dropping sharply by 6.1 percent. The most significant declines were seen on...

Retail

Retail reality check: Footfall dips in September for first time since 2019

Retail footfall declined in September for the first time since 2019, reflecting a return to pre-pandemic trends driven by seasonality, weather and consumer sentiment. This is according to data collected by MRI Software, which found footfall slipped 0.2 percent year-on-year for the five week period to October 4. High streets were the hardest hit,...

Retail

August footfall growth remains modest yet regional cities charge ahead

Footfall in August rose marginally by 0.3 percent compared to the same month last year, with high streets leading the way at a 0.8 percent uptick in activity, according to data from MRI Software. While shopping centres also reported a slight increase of 0.1 percent, retail parks were the only destination to witness a decline, with footfall...

Retail

June footfall picks up in latter half as weather, music and sports entice shoppers

Footfall for the month of June remained largely flat on last year’s figures, however, the emergence of music and sports events, as well as the sun, offered glimmers of promise towards the end of the period. From June 1 to July 5, retail footfall rose by just 0.1 percent compared to the same month last year, while dropping by 0.5 percent...

Retail

Footfall anticipated to rise as Oasis and Wimbledon boost activity

Retail destinations across the UK could see a welcome increase in activity as the summer of sport and entertainment, led by Oasis’ World Tour and Wimbledon, takes shape. Evidence of such already came to fruition last week, June 29 to July 5, when retail footfall rose 1.5 percent on the week prior, according to MRI Software. Retail parks led the...

Retail

UK: Soaring temperatures influence climb in weekly footfall

Soaring temperatures helped boost footfall across all UK retail destinations during the week from June 22 to 28. Throughout the country, footfall was up 1.5 percent compared to the week prior, largely driven by a 3 percent increase in shopping centre activity, according to MRI Software. This was followed by a 1.7 percent uptick in footfall at...