Sheffield city centre experienced a 13.9% increase in weekend footfall during this year’s Lunar Chinese New Year celebrations, according to new data released today by Sheffield BID.
Across Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 February, the festival delivered one of the strongest weekends of the month. This reflects a clear double‑digit uplift in city centre activity compared with the previous February weekend, underlining the strong public response to the event.
Saturday 21 February performed particularly well, with footfall trading 15% above the average February daily baseline. While Sunday was naturally softer, the weekend as a whole comfortably outperformed typical February patterns.
Retail spend: positive signals across several key sectors
Retail spending across the Lunar Chinese New Year weekend remained broadly in line with neighbouring weekends, ending just 2.9% below the average of the weekends either side. Despite this modest overall variation, several categories recorded notable uplift:
- Sunday retail spend increased by +9.9% versus neighbouring Sundays.
- Grocery spend rose by +10.9%, reflecting increased convenience shopping and grab‑and‑go purchases during the celebrations.
- Entertainment spend increased by +22.5%, showing strong participation in event‑linked leisure activity.
- Transport spend grew by +30.2%, indicating significantly more travel into and around the city centre for the celebrations.
The weekend‑level dip was driven primarily by Saturday performance, influenced by external factors such as the timing of payday (which fell after the festival weekend in 2026) and a normalisation of unusually high Food & Drink spending seen in 2025. Taken together with the strong rise in footfall, the figures highlight a well‑attended, high‑engagement event that supported city centre activity across multiple sectors.
Dwell time uplift
Pedestrian dwell times were significantly higher throughout the festival weekend, with visitors spending 11.3% longer in the city centre compared with the monthly average - a clear sign of deeper engagement with the celebrations.
Saturday 21 February recorded the highest uplift, with dwell time rising 14.7%.
Key highlights
- +13.9% weekend footfall uplift
- +15% rise in Saturday footfall
- +9.9% uplift in Sunday retail spend
- Category growth: Grocery +10.9%, Entertainment +22.5%, Transport +30.2%
- +11.3% increase in dwell time over the festival weekend
- +14.7% dwell time uplift on Saturday
- One of February’s strongest weekends for city centre activity
Diane Jarvis, Sheffield BID:
"These results clearly demonstrate the value of high‑quality cultural events in driving city centre activity. Lunar Chinese New Year brought thousands of additional visitors into Sheffield, creating a vibrant atmosphere and delivering tangible benefits for businesses - particularly on the Sunday. We look forward to building on this success and continuing to support events that bring people together and strengthen our city centre economy."
