Christmas no retail disaster yet says Synovate Retail Performance
8 十二月 2006
UNITED KINGDOM — Retail research group Synovate Retail Performance's latest shopping figures to be released today in the run-up to Christmas show that in November the Retail Traffic Index™ (RTI™) fell by 4.9% against November 2005, representing a somewhat paltry a rise of only 2.4% over October, but it's not all over yet, says Synovate Retail Performance.
Dr. Tim Denison, Director of Knowledge Management at Synovate Retail Performance and leading retail psychologist comments; "These are not the sort of figures that make comfortable reading for retailers. However, we believe that recent talk of a Christmas crisis from some quarters is premature and fails to acknowledge fairly well-documented behavioural changes in recent years.
"The last fortnight of November used to be a time for reconnoitre, walking around the stores in search of inspiration for gifts, accompanied by some spontaneous purchasing. Nowadays, many people no longer have the luxury of so much time, or the inclination to face crowded roads and parking spaces; instead they're using the internet to do their intelligence gathering and some early buying where they feel comfortable with delivery promises and even then most often for goods that don't require picking out for size, texture or quality.
"It's also a fact that over the last few years people have left their trips to the shops later and later, largely as a result of certain retailers panicking and declaring pre-Christmas sales in recent years. This year it seems the change in behaviour is even more pronounced. For the first fortnight of November, the month was tracking well against our expectations. However, over the last two weeks, shopper numbers failed to build at the rate we were anticipating. Indeed, numbers were down year on year by a telling 8.5% for the second fortnight of November.
"The fear is that the surge will never come and that the slack trading will not be made up. Inevitably, once again, consumers are forcing the retailers' hands. Consumers have learned to hold off spending until money-off inducements, such as the recent plethora of discount vouchers 'Secret Sales' and short term 'Sale Extravaganzas' in the first week of December stimulate store traffic and trade. Among Oxford Street's flagship stores, the promotional evidence was plain to see; John Lewis being the notable exception.
"The question is whether the slow start will be symptomatic of the whole campaign, or whether it reflects changing habits and bargaining expectations. With high streets now awash with special offers, we should be able to determine over the next week or so what sort of Christmas this will become. No-one was expecting Christmas 2006 to be a bonanza. Steady and satisfactory was the general call. Synovate Retail Performance still adheres to this view. We forecast that the number of shopping trips will fall by 2.4% year-on-year in December - not a carnival but certainly not a major crisis, particularly for those retailers with the right stock and inducements."
All enquiries for follow up or interviews with Dr Tim Denison should be directed to Theo Chalmers at Verve PR on 01908 275271 (weekdays) or 07932 004632.
Contact(s) for this press release
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Tim Denison
Synovate Retail Performance |
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34 Walker Avenue |
Tel. +44 (0) 1908 682 700 |
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Theo Chalmers
Managing Director, Verve Public Relations |
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Park House, 8 Grove Ash |
Tel. +44 1908 275 271 |
Synovate Retail Performance provides footfall monitoring solutions, shopper tracking systems and in-store behavioural research to retailers worldwide. Its core products – Shopper Count, Shopper Interact and Shopper Engage – scientifically measure all aspects of a shopper experience from store entry to exit. Originally founded as Solution Products Systems Ltd (SPSL) in the UK in 1998, it was acquired by Synovate in December 2007 and now offers unrivalled global reach and scalability through Synovate's network of in-country teams and three specialist hubs based in Europe, North America and the Far East.
It supplies national and international retailers with essential business metrics to drive accountability and performance improvement. Synovate Retail Performance harnesses powerful retail and shopper intelligence and creates real deployable insight, to deliver its mantra of "Measure, Manage, Improve" to clients.
Synovate Retail Performance is home to the Retail Traffic Index series, which for over 10 years has been the industry's leading tracker of national, regional and sector retail footfall trends. It is also co-founder of the KPMG / Synovate Retail Think Tank, offering thought leadership on the state of retail health and the future of retailing. Synovate Retail Performance is part of Synovate Customer Experience, Synovate's global business practice specialising in the profitable management of the total sum of all customer interactions.
For more information on Synovate Retail Performance click here.
About The Retail Traffic Index (RTI)
The RTI from Synovate Retail Performance is regarded as the national benchmark of retail shopper traffic flow. It is constructed using a nationally representative sample of over 520 million visits to over 3,100 retail premises per annum across the UK, excluding the grocery, convenience and minor retail service sectors.
For further details and a full explanation see here.
About Synovate
Synovate, the market research arm of Aegis Group plc, generates consumer insights that drive competitive marketing solutions. The network provides clients with cohesive global support and a comprehensive suite of research solutions. Synovate employs over 6,400 staff across 62 countries.
For more information on Synovate visit www.synovate.com.