Fortnight of tennis gives 23 percent uplift in visits to shopping district

Visits to Wimbledon Village saw a 23 percent net uplift during the two weeks of the Wimbledon tennis tournament, while the town centre experienced an equivalent uplift of nine percent according to Colliers.

The data compares visits during the two weeks of the tournament (the first two weeks of July) to the first two weeks of June, with the numbers being compared to a set of nearby benchmark locations over the same time period.

Paul Mathews, director in the Retail Strategy & Analytics team at Colliers, comments: “We wanted to take a deeper look into the impact that Wimbledon has on the two main retail centres in Wimbledon. The village is home to more boutiques, while Wimbledon town centre benefits from the major transport links and more mainstream retail brands.

Proximity wise, the Village benefits from being closer to the tennis club, which accounts for some of the uplift in footfall, however it’s interesting that despite its transport connections the uplift seen in the town centre was significantly smaller. The mix of more local, upscale retailers alongside a whole range of places to eat and drink seems to appeal more to the tennis spectators who are looking to experience a whole day out. There may also be an element at play of more regular visitors staying away from the area during the tournament to avoid the increased traffic.

As we enter the rest of the summer, with schools breaking up and a natural increase in footfall, alongside an anticipated boost for pubs showing the Women’s World Cup, it will be interesting to see if Wimbledon town centre can close the gap.”

Image courtesy of Unsplash. Photo credit: Matthias David.