Watford shoppers are returning to local shops at a higher rate than shoppers in London, new figures reveal.

Three months after non-essential retail stores were granted to open on April 12 following the third lockdown, councils have been helping businesses get back on their feet in the road to financial recovery.

For Watford, despite the loss of major retailers such as Debenhams and John Lewis in the town centre, it appears that shoppers are returning to the high street more than the national average.

New figures obtained by market research company Ipsos’ Retail Recovery Index shows that footfall levels are nearing pre-pandemic levels more in Watford than most places in the south east of England.

Specifically, Watford was just above the national average, with footfall in the area down -32 per cent between April and July 2021, compared to the same period in 2019.

It performed better than London, where footfall was down -36.6 per cent, and the south east (-35.7 per cent).

National footfall was down -36.4 per cent compared to the same period in 2019.

The index tracks the levels of footfall across the UK, constructed from the number of shoppers entering stores using a sample of over 4,000 retail outlets.

Near to Watford, Harrow appeared to be leading the UK retail bounce back – with it ranking as the second-best recovery in the entire UK.

Just Sailsbury ranked higher than Harrow, and the only other local area with a high bounce back is Brent Cross.

Areas in central London have suffered the worst footfall comparisons, with the City of London down -68.9 per cent and the West End -49.9 per cent when compared to 2019.

Explaining the findings, Oliver Hillier, senior retail analyst at Ipsos, said: “Our Retail Recovery Index shows that, after a difficult period of lockdown, shoppers are keen to return to high streets. The North East and East Midlands have seen a strong recovery, particularly driven by footfall in cities such as Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Derby."

“Central London destinations continue to see footfall lag behind the rest of the country but we expect to see this situation improve as leisure venues reopen and more workers return to offices."

"The success of smaller cities like Salisbury also highlights that many shoppers have continued to visit stores close to their homes, rather than visiting major cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. However, the attributes that made these cities shopping destinations remain as we expect to see their footfall levels rise over the coming months.”