Official surveys show that Harlow is becoming more and more popular for shopping. While footfall in UK high streets generally dropped by 8.6 per cent in the year to December, Harlow town centre footfall figures have improved by over 25 per cent in the last two years. Local Lib Dem leader Cllr Chris Millington welcomed the news:

"It's nice to see Harlow bucking the national trend for Christmas shopping. What is particularly pleasing is that footfall was high in all areas of the town centre."