Grand Arcade earns industry award and reports footfall rise

The team at the Grand Arcade in Cambridge has been recognised at industry awards, and the shopping centre has bucked a national trend by reporting rising footfall.

Their efforts and innovations with the ‘Dinky Present Hunt’ festive event programme – in collaboration with Cambridge artists Dinky Doors – helped them to secure Best Marketing Campaign of the Year at the 2023 REVO Awards in a ceremony held at Battersea Power Station, and that followed an earlier ‘High Commendation’ at the Sceptres Awards in October.

For the programme, the secretive artists created 10 presents that were dotted around the shopping centre which each opened to reveal a different sculpture inside.

Martin Macwhinnie, centre manager at the Grand Arcade, said: “We were thrilled that our 2022 Christmas Campaign was recognised at the REVO awards – we had some incredible competition from across the UK and I felt very proud of our team.

“Our strong footfall numbers for 2023 are evidence that what we’re doing here at Grand Arcade are making our customers want to come and see us.”

Julie Kervadec, marketing manager at the centre, added: “It’s really positive to see that our effort, and the fact that we put the community first, was rewarded.

“It was a huge amount of work, from all parties involved, so it’s really great that it was rewarded by the industry.”

The Grand Arcade has also reported a strong Christmas season, with growing consumer footfall bolstered by its popular seasonal event programme, including storytelling with Mrs Claus at its North Pole grotto, which was attended by about 4,000 people, and a gingerbread trail featuring artworks from six schools, with shoppers encouraged to vote for their favourite display.

Its festive celebration on December 19, with local artists, musicians, dancers and choirs, helped draw more than 40,000 visitors to the centre while demonstrating the talent of 500 local performers.

The shopping centre said its mixture of brands, restaurants and shops benefitted from a 10.7 per cent increase in footfall from 2022.

This rise bucks the national retail trend, which has seen many shopping destinations report stagnant, or reduced, footfall levels.

The growth was also witnessed at specific shopping events, including Black Friday, on which footfall for 2023 was 6.1 per cent higher than in 2022.

Five new retailers – Bubbleology, Dr Martens, Oliver Bonas, Phase Eight and Candles & Oud – joined the retail line-up at the centre last year.

For more information on the Grand Arcade, visit grandarcade.co.uk.