Christmas rush continues, but still behind 2005, says Synovate Retail Performance
22 十二月 2006
UNITED KINGDOM — Latest figures from retail analyst Synovate Retail Performance released today show that shopper numbers are continuing to rise in the week before the final Christmas-week rush - for the week of 10th December to 16th December inclusive, shopper numbers were up 6.4% on the previous week – but are still showing a drop of 5.3% on the equivalent week last year (w/c 11th December 2005).
Dr. Tim Denison, Director of Knowledge Management at Synovate Retail Performance and leading retail psychologist comments; "The Retail Traffic Index™ figures represent by far the most comprehensive and robust sample of people actually entering stores and constitute one ever-reliable rock of fact in the shifting sands of contradictory Christmas data.
"This latest dataset shows that retailers generally are still doing significantly better than many had predicted, although shopping behaviour this year has been affected by several factors including greater use of the internet for both browsing and buying, rising interest rates and utility bills, and a widening gap between those still feeling well-off and confident and those reining in their spending. This may well explain the fact that there are still fewer people entering stores this year than last and, in the third week of Christmas shopping (10th - 16th), we see the year-on-year gap once again fairly close to that of the recent figures. Nevertheless those who are shopping may well be spending more, individually, than last year.
"Our prediction is that shopper numbers will be closer to last year's in this, the final week of Christmas shopping, with a significant rush expected over the final weekend. In all, we expect retailers' eventual Christmas trading figures to show that most, but not all, enjoyed a decent Christmas."
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.