CHANGES to working patterns and hybrid working have seen footfall on Tuesdays in town centres, including Chester, double when compared to 2022.

New research into footfall and visitor behaviour has seen a surprising trend emerge across Northwest England, with a surge in workers entering cities and town centres on Tuesdays - an increase of 114 percent in March 2023, compared to the same time last year.

Chester, Blackpool and Blackburn saw the largest year-on-year increase in footfall compared to last year and showed that hybrid working habits have made Tuesdays busier than Sundays, meaning that Tuesday is often the second busiest day behind Saturday. For Blackburn and Wigan Tuesday was the busiest day week with more visitors than even Saturday.

Data from Place Informatics has highlighted a huge shift in hybrid working patterns in the last 12 months is with millions opting to work in the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays rather than spending the majority of the week working from home. With so many still home-based on Monday, the new normal is to venture back to the office on Tuesday, where it is clear workers are using their commute and lunch hour to shop and socialise.

The data was compiled from ten cities and towns across Northwest England – Manchester, Liverpool, Warrington, Blackpool, Chester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bolton, Preston and St Helens.

Footfall data itself is a useful tool to see how town centres, high streets and particular businesses are performing, but understanding how these visitors are behaving and also which catchment areas they are visiting from, offers the vital information needed to support and even help change the fortunes of many town centres across the UK.

Clive Hall, CEO of Place Informatics, commented: "It is interesting to see how hybrid worker behaviour has changed since the pandemic and clearly our new working habits are having a huge impact on footfall numbers. Tuesdays have seen a huge increase in popularity which we believe is due to millions choosing to work from home on Mondays and then venturing back to the office or scheduling meetings on Tuesdays. It is however surprising to see how busy Tuesdays have become, surpassing Sundays and even Saturdays in some towns.

"Our data can help retailers, hospitality, councils and many other businesses and services understand how visitors are behaving, where visitors come from and most importantly what services they are utilising on their visit, including green spaces, car parks and public realms."

Further information on location, visitor data and insight can be found at placeinformatics.com.