Bank holiday flop for retailers
28 August 2007
UNITED KINGDOM — Data released today from research group Synovate Retail Performance, show that 73% of the 3,100 stores that make up the sample for The Retail Traffic Index™ suffered a year-on-year decline in footfall or were neutral this bank holiday.
The number of shoppers entering retail outlets across the UK was down by 9.8% for the Saturday and Sunday together (25th and 26th) versus Saturday and Sunday (26th and 27th) last year. On the bank holiday Monday (27th), retail footfall was down 9.7% versus the bank holiday (28th), last year. Overall for the 3 days, footfall was down 9.8% year on year. Just 27% of stores that go to make up the RTI registered year-on-year growth.
According to Dr. Tim Denison, Director of Knowledge Management at Synovate Retail Performance and leading retail psychologist; "We feel that there are a combination of reasons for the poor shopper turn-out this weekend. Without doubt, the first good weather for some weeks will have tempted people to be outdoors, making the most of it, many choosing to follow recreational pursuits other than shopping. Secondly we believe that this weekend's figures provides another sign of the long-awaited consumer tipping point which retailers have been working so hard to stave-off. Thirdly, most of the Sales which retailers have been holding to dispose of their stock piles and maintain a shopping momentum have now come to a close.
"Whatever the exact balance between these factors, these latest figures will not be good news for retailers after a tough Summer for many. In July we saw retail footfall fall below its 2006 level for the first time in six months with a 1% decline. Going forward we cannot discount the impact of rising interest rates, taxes and household bills against a background of subdued wage increases."
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 the the KPMG / Synovate Retail Performance Retail Think Tank
The RTT was founded by KPMG and Synovate Retail Performance in February 2006. It now meets quarterly to provide authoritative 'thought leadership' on matters affecting the retail industry. All outputs are consensual and arrived at by simple majority vote and moderated discussion. Quotes are individually credited. Releases and White Papers can be viewed by visiting 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.