Christmas 'Rush Curve' continues to outpace 2005 says Synovate Retail Performance
14 December 2006
UNITED KINGDOM — Latest figures from retail analyst Synovate Retail Performance released today show that the 'rush curve', the week-on-week build-up to Christmas, continues to gather momentum and is actually far stronger than last year – more evidence that we do our Christmas shopping later and later each year.
In 2005 shopper numbers over the first two weeks of December were up 11.4% on the previous fortnight. This time around they are up by 16.5%. Despite the rush building momentum, shopper numbers at this stage are still down on last year. For the last fortnight, retail footfall is down 4.3% on the same weeks of 2005.
Dr. Tim Denison, Director of Knowledge Management at Synovate Retail Performance and leading retail psychologist comments; "Retailers should take heart from these latest Retail Traffic Index™ figures. Though we are building from a quieter base than last year, the acceleration in the number of trips being made is now outpacing 2005. The RTI deficit for December is closing. For the first official week of the month (w/c 26th November) the gap was -5.1%; this has now narrowed to -4.3% for the fortnight when the second week is added.
"Retail footfall for last week, officially the second week of December (w/c 3rd), was down 3.6% year-on-year, but up 8.0% on the previous week (w/c 26th November). Our forecast for last week (w/c 3rd Dec) had shown an expected decline of 5.0% against last year, so the actual drop of 3.6% is welcome news and shows how the later and stronger 'rush curve' is affecting shopper numbers.
"A busy Saturday (with shopper numbers up 1.1% against the same day last year) made all the difference. We are still very much on target to reach a creditable Christmas result for retailing and see no need to revise our December forecast (shopper numbers down 2.4% on 2005).
"Christmas shopping is now firmly on people's radars and will be in their plans for the next fortnight. Those intent on leaving their shopping right to the last minute (typically men) need to be careful not to get caught out this year, however. With Christmas Eve on a Sunday, the shops won't be open as late.
Note to Editors:
Dr. Tim Denison is available for TV, radio and print media interviews. If you wish to tie these in with your diary, Synovate Retail Performance will be issuing RTI updates on the following dates:
Monday 18.12.06 – 3rd weekend results release
Wednesday 20.12.06 – 3rd week in December release
Monday 25.12.06 – 4th weekend/final shopping days results release
Wednesday 27.12.06 – 4th week in December/boxing day results release
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 6,000 employees across 62 countries.
For more information on Synovate visit www.synovate.com.