For shoppers, the aim is a better experience. For advertisers, it raises a different question.

When the physical environment changes, what happens to the value of the media within it?

Because OOH doesn't just buy locations. It buys audiences. And those audiences don't stand still.

OOH doesn't buy streets. It buys audiences.

Oxford Street has always been a destination for shopping, but the way people experience it could change significantly as more space is given to pedestrians.

As Martin, Business Director at billups UK, explains:

“The changes we are about to see are designed to enhance that function and whilst there will be a reduction in vehicular traffic, there will potentially be an increase in pedestrian audiences and how long they’re spending on the street.”

That distinction matters. A site can remain in exactly the same place while the audience around it changes in volume, direction, speed and composition.

For planners, the challenge is understanding whether those changes affect a site's ability to deliver reach, attention or relevance. A location's historical audience figures may not tell the whole story once the environment around it has changed.

More dwell time doesn't automatically mean more attention

One of the biggest assumptions surrounding pedestrianisation is that slower movement means better advertising opportunities.

It could. But it's not that simple.

Oxford Street will remain a busy retail environment, with shopfronts, digital screens and other messages competing for attention. Having more time to encounter an advertisement doesn't guarantee that someone will notice it, engage with it or remember it.

As Martin puts it:

“Dwell time is a valuable tool for advertisers, however, increased dwell time does not automatically equate to greater engagement.”

For brands, the creative challenge remains the same: give people a reason to look.

The opportunity may lie in matching the message to the moment. An audience moving quickly through an environment may respond to a different creative approach from someone browsing shops or spending longer in a particular area.

But planners need to understand how people actually behave before assuming one environment will outperform another.

Fewer formats could change the competitive landscape

Pedestrianisation won't just change how people move. It will also change the mix of media they encounter.

The removal of buses and taxis means the loss of advertising formats that have traditionally been part of Oxford Street's visual landscape. Meanwhile, street furniture and digital screens will continue to compete for attention alongside retail media and shopfronts.

Martin highlights an important consideration: Route figures suggest that approximately/circa 5–10% of Oxford Street OOH sites currently derive their impacts from vehicular traffic.

That suggests the impact on overall site audiences may be more nuanced than simply assuming that removing vehicles means losing significant reach. However, the figures don't tell us how audience behaviour or individual site performance will change after implementation.

“If we see a reduction in audiences, that could be balanced by the removal of other OOH formats commonly seen on the road, meaning greater cut through and increased attention,” Martin says.

It's a possibility worth investigating, not an outcome to take for granted.

The question for media owners and advertisers is how the remaining formats perform within a different media environment — and whether their relative value changes.

Plan the audience journey, not just the panel

Oxford Street also presents a wider planning consideration. With bus routes changing and stops moving to surrounding streets, the journeys people take to reach the shopping district may change too.

That makes the surrounding environment important. What happens at Oxford Circus and Bond Street? How do people move between transport, retail and leisure? And where do different media touchpoints fit into that journey?

For planners, the answer isn't necessarily to replace one site with another. It's to understand how locations work together, and whether the campaign still reaches the right people in the right context.

That could influence site selection, creative decisions and how brands sequence messages across different environments.

But first, the industry needs evidence.

Measure what changes. Don't assume.

Oxford Street offers an opportunity to test how changes to the physical environment affect OOH planning. Six months after the transformation, Martin wants to see the latest Route audience figures, feedback from media owners and a real-world view of how consumers and retailers are experiencing the street.

The key is to establish a baseline and compare what happens afterwards: audience volumes, movement patterns, dwell time and the performance of individual media environments.

The ultimate question is whether changes in audience behaviour translate into changes in media value and campaign outcomes.

Three questions for OOH planners

1. Has the audience changed? Look beyond historical figures to understand movement, volume and audience composition.

2. Has the media environment changed? Consider how the mix of formats, competition for attention and surrounding transport routes affect a site's role.

3. Has the value changed? Use post-implementation evidence to inform site selection, creative and investment decisions.

   
   

Oxford Street is more than a pedestrianisation project. It's a reminder that OOH planning cannot stand still when the world around a site changes.

The opportunity isn't to assume that pedestrianisation makes advertising better. It's to understand what changes, measure what matters and adapt accordingly.

Because the most valuable location isn't necessarily the one with the most footfall or the longest dwell time.

It's the one that delivers the right audience, in the right mindset, with the right message

→ Talk to billups about how audience behaviour, location and context can help shape a smarter media plan.

Sources: 

1. Transport for London — Traffic-free Oxford Street: Read the TfL update

Official implementation timeline, traffic-free section, transport changes and travel information.

2. Greater London Authority — Mayoral Decision MD3475: Read the Mayoral Decision

The formal decision authorising transport and highway changes to enable pedestrianisation between Great Portland Street and Orchard Street.

3. Oxford Street Development Corporation — Oxford Street begins traffic-free transformation: Read the OSDC announcement