What: On Coronation Day, footfall across UK retail destinations was 20.6% lower than the previous Saturday.

Why it is important: The impact of the Coronation on retail footfall was worse than expected, proving that city center events can cause disruptions in operations

In Central London, the increase in visitors coming to the city resulted in a lower drop in footfall, with a 9.3% decrease between the time of the parade and ceremony. Visitor traffic was on par with the week before and non-retail traffic saw an increase of 8.5%.

In London’s Knightsbridge, footfall rose by 57.7% compared to the prior week. Other high streets and towns in the UK also saw an increase such as King Edward Street in Hull and New George Street in Plymouth.

Across all UK retail destinations, total figures showed a 13.2% decrease compared to the same day last year, with Central London seeing an 11.3% increase. Additionally, when the parade and event were taking place, Central London saw an increase of 21.5% in retail areas and a 46.4% increase in non-retail areas.

The figures demonstrate that while large city center events may bring in more visitors, they can result in disruptions in operations and Paris during the 2024 Olympics will be no exception.

Coronation dents retail footfall but Knightsbridge gets massive bonus