Liverpool One outperforming benchmarks and planning for second quarter surge

Liverpool One, the Grosvenor-owned city centre retail centre, is significantly outperforming UK benchmarks for customer footfall, and expects a big surge in the second quarter of 2024.

It said a series of large-scale events later in the year are expected to attract visitors from across the globe, and is anticipating an extra 100,000 people to visit the site in the second quarter of the year.

Taylor Swift, P!NK and Comic Con are expected to drive thousands more visitors to Liverpool in the coming months.

The predicted increase follows a strong first quarter of the year at Liverpool One with a 3.3% year-on-year uplift in footfall, significantly outperforming UK benchmarks, according to latest figures from Shoppertrak.

Continuing the upward trend, sales at Liverpool One have risen by 2.6% so far this year, bucking the national trend between January and March, according to British Retail Consortium (BRC) figures released today (Tuesday, April 9).

‘Super Saturday’ – the day before Mother’s Day – has been hailed among one of the key factors in Liverpool One’s success during the past three months, with a 30% increase in visitors making it the busiest day of the year so far.

With sales increasing every year for Mother’s Day at Liverpool One, the occasion is fast becoming the busiest shopping day outside of the Christmas period for beauty-led items.

Also boosting the retail and entertainment’s popularity has been a series of pop-up activations, including fashion brand Sisters & Seekers, sportswear favourite ARNE, Space NK’s pop-up beauty of Sol de Janeiro, and pre-loved luxury reseller, Luxe Collective.

Menswear and jewellery sales soared by more than 50% between January and March, compared with the same period last year.

Iain Finlayson, Estate Director at Liverpool One, said: “We have seen an incredibly strong start to 2024, which is a true testament to the strength of brands we have and those choosing Liverpool One to open new stores or for pop-ups.

“We have seen an overwhelming response to brands offering customers something fresh and new, encouraging new visitors to explore what we have to offer here, so we are really looking forward to what else we can bring to Liverpool One this year.”

Now, the centre is looking ahead to a busy spring, as the much-anticipated Comic Con arrives at ACC Liverpool on May 4.

In a new partnership, Liverpool One is building up to the iconic event – set to be the biggest Comic Con outside London – playing host to a series of character appearances and parades from cosplay groups.

And, with global superstars Taylor Swift and P!NK performing at Anfield Stadium on June 13-16 and 24-25, respectively, the stage is set for continued success in the second quarter of the year.

Iain added: “Last year, we saw how the city transformed, as Liverpool hosted the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine.

“The legacy from this is an even stronger partnership with the wider city and our lasting appeal to new audiences. Comic Con is a key example of this collaborative way of working with large events that come to the city, and we’re thrilled to be playing such a major role in building the excitement in the run up to the event.”

However, the centre has suffered a setback with news yesterday (April 8) that London-based fashion brand, Ted Baker, is to close its Liverpool One store this month.

The brand is in administration and yesterday announced plans to shut 11 of its stores around the UK, resulting in 145 redundancies.

Four additional stores, in Bicester, London, Brompton Road, London, Floral Street, and Manchester Trafford, will close in the coming weeks and result in a further 100 redundancies.