Experience-hungry shoppers trend towards food and drink spending

Retailers expect shift to expenditure on socialising rather than consumer goods to intensify this Easter

UK high streets are expected to be busy this Easter weekend, with forecasters predicting an increase in the number of people going out to spend money on food and drink.

Mild spring weather and the fact that the bank holiday weekend falls not long after March's payday, are expected to lead to an 8.8% increase in the number of shoppers on the high street, according to the latest footfall predictions from retail analyst Springboard. In total, footfall to all outlets, including retail parks, is expected to be up by 5.4% year on year, in contrast to a 1.9% fall over Easter 2016.

Related: Sharp rise in UK food prices inflates household shopping bill