Bosses at Wigan shopping centre delighted by footfall numbers

Bosses expressed delight at the numbers, saying they were better than expected.

The Galleries endured a difficult return to trading, with the first day back marred by a heavy storm which caused flooding in parts of the complex.

But those in charge of the centre say the footfall data clearly shows an appetite among the Wigan public to get back into the town centre and shop.

Simon Tucker, The Galleries centre manager, said: “We’re really pleased that people are coming back to the shopping centre. It was a nervous first morning trying to anticipate how the public would feel about shopping following the lockdown, but we were pleasantly surprised.

“The figures are a little over 50 per cent of where we were last year in terms of footfall, but under the circumstances we’re really pleased and are hopeful that this figure will continue to grow over the coming weeks.

"We’ve lots of independent retailers and the feedback from our customers has suggested that people are keen to support smaller, local businesses and not just the larger high street names.”

The shopping centre has imposed a raft of safety measures to reassure customers as they return to the high street.

Leader of Wigan Council, Coun David Molyneux, said: “Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, a few essential businesses have continued to operate but over the last week, our high streets have gradually reopened to shoppers in line with government guidance.

“The local economy has been impacted by the pandemic but the footfall figures in The Galleries after reopening are reassuring and positive as we look to recover from Covid-19.

“Our approach to working directly with local businesses to prepare them for the easing of lockdown has worked well and we would like to thank them and the public for being respectful of the social distancing measures.”

Not all stores at the shopping centre are operating with the same opening hours, so the centre has set up a dedicated page on its website to provide retailer information at www.gallerieswigan.co.uk/welcome-back/