Dry and bright weather, seasonal sales, a strong hospitality offering and festive experiences are being credited for a footfall boost in Cardiff in the days after Christmas.
FOR Cardiff, the Business Improvement District (BID) for Cardiff city centre, said it was seeing footfall in line with a UK-wide trend. Footfall data from retail tech experts MRI Software showed strong performance for UK retail destinations including Cardiff city centre on Boxing Day, with footfall up +4.4% year on year across the board – the strongest increase seen in more than 10 years.
The boost in activity was driven by a later peak in visits across all UK retail destinations from 5pm – 11pm, which the BID said suggests that leisure and hospitality establishments are also benefiting from the annual uplift.
Carolyn Brownell, Executive Director at FOR Cardiff, said:
“The ‘twixmas’ period is when people want something easy and uplifting without having to make complicated plans – for this, Cardiff city centre is perfect.
“With a spell of bright, dry weather forecast across this week, we’re seeing people enjoying the very best of it; shopping the sales whilst also stopping for food and drink – and taking in the lights and festive displays before they finish in early January.”
As part of FOR Cardiff’s ‘A Very Cardiff Christmas' campaign, the city’s festive light projections at Cardiff Market and Cardiff Central Train Station – now with a refreshed post-Christmas design – continue to run until 5th January.
