Footfall on the traffic-free stretch of Oxford Street rose 16 per cent in its first week, according to data compiled by the London mayor's office, delivering what Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan called "staggering early results".

The figures, gathered by City Hall, cover the section between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street. They compare against the October 2025 half-term week and point to a sharper shift than planners expected. Researchers told City Hall the data has far surpassed expectations.

For retailers, the change is already visible in the till. Payments company Adyen reported last week that spending at stores along the pedestrianised section grew from £2.9m to £3.7m year-on-year. International visitor numbers climbed by about 42 per cent, and visits after 6pm also rose — a signal that the scheme is pulling in evening trade, not just daytime shopping trips.

What does the mayor claim the numbers prove?

Khan framed the first-week performance as evidence for a much broader argument: that Britain's most famous shopping street can reverse its long decline once vehicles leave. He said the results were a "real boost for the nation's high street".

"These are staggering early results that show the transformational impact that the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street will have," Khan said.

"With Christmas around the corner, I'd encourage Londoners and visitors to come and see what a traffic-free Oxford Street has to offer, whether you're here to shop, meet friends or make an evening of it. The new Oxford Street is going to be one of the world's most exciting public spaces, so come and be a part of this truly momentous project."

The timing matters for operators. The pedestrianisation landed weeks before the Christmas shopping peak, and City Hall expects the festive season to deliver a larger surge in shopper numbers than the first week already recorded.

Who is pushing back against the closure?

The decision to close Oxford Street to buses and cyclists has divided Londoners. The Marylebone Association, a group of residents living around the area, drew on public information to argue that bus journeys are now taking up to 11 minutes longer following the change.

Cyclists have objected with their feet. Hundreds staged a protest near Oxford Circus over a week ago, opposing their exclusion from the street.

The mayor's office has not, according to the released data, addressed the displacement costs directly. For transport planners and West End operators, the trade-off is now concrete: a 16 per cent footfall gain and £800,000 of additional weekly spending against longer bus times and a cycling route removed from the corridor.

Why has Khan pursued this for years?

The pedestrianisation caps a long campaign. Khan has pushed for higher shopping levels on Oxford Street for years, while critics complained about American candy shops and Harry Potter-style gift stores opening along the street.

A separate £10m clean-up effort previously turned illegal candy stores into rent-free shops. The mayor has argued that pedestrianisation would encourage "quality shops" to move in, adding that "decline is not inevitable".

For landlords and prospective tenants, the first-week data offers the earliest test of that thesis. A 42 per cent jump in international visitors is the kind of metric that shapes leasing conversations, because tourist spending supports the premium rents Oxford Street landlords have struggled to defend in recent years.

The next checkpoint is Christmas. If the festive surge materialises on top of the first-week gains, Khan will enter 2026 with the strongest evidence yet that removing traffic from Oxford Street converts directly into commercial performance. If it does not, the mayor faces residents and cycling groups armed with their own numbers — and a bus network running 11 minutes slower.