Monthly Footfall Overview: April 2025

April experienced varied footfall trends on Park Street and Victoria Street

07/05/2025

Following our investment in Micro Location insights via O2/Virgin Media, two sensors have been installed on Victoria Street and Park Street, allowing us to better understand footfall trends across the city.

April experienced varied footfall trends across two of Bristol’s key areas, with a decrease in footfall on Park Street, and a surge on Victoria Street. The Easter period and warmer weather was a key contributing factor behind visitor patterns and frequency. Despite these fluctuations, both streets continue to attract a large proportion of visitors with higher than average spending power, indicating a positive outlook for local businesses.

 

PARK STREET

 

OVERALL TRENDS

Footfall on Park Street fell by 13% from March to April, while visitor numbers decreased by just 1%, indicating fewer repeat visits. The daily average footfall was 15,351, down from 17,050 in March. Key trends included:

  • Easter period: The Easter holidays ran from 7-18 April this year, with the Easter Monday bank holiday on 21 April. This period likely led to a decrease in footfall due school holidays, students returning home, and people leaving the city for holidays.
  • Weekend impact and warmer weather: Despite decreases in footfall across the month, warmer weather still played a contributing factor. The highest days for footfall were Saturdays throughout the month, followed by Friday 4 April, which had a high of 21°C.

VISITOR DEMOGRAPHICS & BEHAVIOUR

  • A higher percentage of visitors were aged 18-54 compared to the national average, while fewer were 55+.
  • The most popular time to visit Park Street was 2-6pm on Saturdays. 18% of all visits were made on Saturdays, despite Saturdays accounting for only 13% of the month.
  • ‘Out of area’ visitors (those visiting rather than working or residing nearby) made up 74% of visits, up 4% from March. 
  • The average dwell time was 27 minutes, slightly higher than March.
  • 46% of visitors were female, compared to 51% nationally.

SPENDING POWER & TRAVEL PATTERNS

  • Compared to the UK average, Park Street visitors had a ‘high’ or ‘very high’ spend power. 
  • The proportion of visitors with ‘mid’, low’ or ‘very low’ spend power was higher in April than in March.
  • When comparing the spending power of different categories of visitor, ‘residents’ had the highest average, followed by ‘visitors’ and then ‘workers’.   
  • 64% of visitors made 1 visit, 36% made 2-5 visits, and 1% made 6 to 10 visits. Compared to March, fewer people were making return visits to Park Street, as reflected in the larger decrease in footfall compared to visitor numbers. 
  • The BS8 postcode attracted the highest number of visitors, followed by BS6.
  • 64% of visitors came from the Bristol area, the same as in March. 3% came from both Bath and Gloucester postcodes. 
  • Spain was the top country for international visitors.

 

VICTORIA STREET

 

OVERALL TRENDS*

Victoria Street experienced a 31% increase in footfall from March to April, with a 32% increase in visitor numbers. While the number of visitors increased, on average, people visited Victoria Street around the same number of times as March. The daily average footfall was 6,070, up from 4,466. Key trends included: 

  • Easter impact: The Easter holidays ran from 7-18 April this year, with the Easter Monday bank holiday on 21 April. Despite a dip in footfall on Park Street, Victoria Street experienced an increase. This could be due to the proximity of the sensor to Bristol Temple Meads station, a key transport hub that likely continued to see footfall from commuters and travellers passing through during the Easter period. 
  • Weekend and lunchtime impact: The highest days for footfall were Saturday 5 April, which saw a high of 17°C, followed by Sunday 20 April. Other busy periods include weekday lunchtimes, where 1-2pm on Tuesday-Thursday accounted for the busiest hours outside of Saturdays. This highlights the strong impact that local workers have on footfall during lunchtime.

*The Victoria Street data cell lost connection on 29 and 30 April, meaning no movement data was recorded for those days.

VISITOR DEMOGRAPHICS & BEHAVIOURS 

  • A higher percentage of visitors were aged 18-54 compared to the national average, while fewer were 55+.
  • The most popular time to visit Victoria Street was 1-6pm on Saturdays, followed by 1-2pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. 16% of visits were made on Saturdays. Compared to Park Street, Victoria Street sees a more even spread of visitors throughout the week. 
  • The average dwell time was 26.5 minutes compared to 33 minutes in March.
  • 44% of visitors were female, compared to 51% nationally.

SPENDING POWER & TRAVEL PATTERNS 

  • Compared to the UK average, Victoria Street attracted a larger proportion of visitors with ‘high’ or ‘very high’ spend power. 
  • Compared to March, the proportion of visitors with ‘very high’ spend power was higher.
  • 70% of visitors made 1 visit, 26% made 2-5 visits, 3% made 6-10 visits, and 1% made 11+ visits, the same as March. 
  • The BS4 postcode attracted the highest number of visitors, followed by BS5.
  • 60% of visitors to Victoria Street came from the Bristol area, down 3% from March. 5% came from Bath post code areas and 3% from Gloucester post code areas. 
  • Spain was the top country for international visitors.

 

Our Footfall & Insights pages are updated weekly with the latest footfall data. Please refer to our Reports & Resources section for a snapshot overview of footfall in our Monthly Visitor Reports and an overview of spend behaviours in our Quarterly Spend Reports.

The expanded footfall data can be viewed through our online dashboard for more effective and informed decision making. Please get in touch if you would like more information.

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