Time for retailers to show their Mettle
5 十月 2007
UNITED KINGDOM — The latest Retail Traffic Index (RTI) figures from research group Synovate Retail Performance, show that September shopper numbers were down by 0.5% against the same month of 2006 and down by 8.9% compared with figures from August this year. The topsy-turvy retail year continued with the Q3 overall figure showing no change against last year, following a rise of 2.2% in Q2 and a fall of 0.9% in Q1.
According to Dr. Tim Denison, Director of Knowledge Management at Synovate Retail Performance and leading retail psychologist; "I think many retail analysts will be forced to admit that shoppers have been more resilient for longer into this year than we had expected. That said, it's difficult to forecast anything other than a challenging next quarter for the retail industry.
"Our data strongly suggest that the gap in the number of shopping trips being made to non-food outlets over the remainder of 2007 versus 2006 will worsen progressively by 0.5% each month, leading to a 2% year-on-year fall in December. Despite this bad news for retailers, the expected decline in shopper visits will actually be less than it was in Q4 2006 compared with Q4 2005 (down 3.1% then). However, it will come at a time when many retailers are feeling the strain of a particularly difficult trading year.
"It should be remembered that this time last year the talk was all about the tightening credit squeeze on consumers and the growing insolvency levels. Twelve months on and the topics occupying the thoughts of economists and city analysts are still much the same, but the situation is just that little bit more acute:
- debt levels are still rising and have trebled now in a decade, albeit that the majority is secured on housing
- the further tightening of credit conditions after the run on Northern Rock can only add to consumer nervousness
- debt servicing as a percentage of disposable income is now at its highest level for fifteen years
"There is a certain inevitability in the toughening conditions confronting retailers, but there is no industry sector more irrepressible in this country than retailing. Christmas 2007 more than any other of recent times will be all about getting the basics of product, value and service right, delivering what the customer demands, and executing it that little bit better than before.
"Our experience is that retailers now more than ever are applying strict analytical disciplines to their businesses and leaving very little to chance or 'creative hunches'. They know increasingly that they cannot afford to make even one costly mistake with product, pricing, marketing or staff."
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 6,400 staff across 62 countries.
For more information on Synovate visit www.synovate.com.