Retail shopper numbers stay out of minus 4% 'drop-zone', says Synovate
4 March 2009
UNITED KINGDOM — The Synovate Retail Traffic Index (RTI) figures for February 2009, released today, show no signs of even the first green shoots for retail recovery yet they do manage to stay out of the minus 4% year-on-year 'drop-zone'. The number of shopping trips made to non-food stores in February was down by 3.4% against the same month a year ago and down by 6.7% on January. This compares with a year on year drop of 3.7% in January against that same month a year ago.
Synovate retail psychologist Dr Tim Denison said, "Much as we would all like to be seeing at least some sign of germination if not actual green shoots of recovery, these figures show that non-food shopping is still down the order on people's lifestyle and living agenda. There is a sniff of some good news here, however. The first two weeks of February had some very severe weather which curbed many shopping trips, restricting them to essential or local outings only. Given that, we should be somewhat heartened by the figures, which are marginally better than in January, when numbers were down by 3.7% year-on-year.
"In addition, we are not seeing shopper numbers fall into the minus 4% or more year-on-year 'drop-zone', a figure which we consider to indicate a serious change in shopper behaviour requiring something of a big fix. I think therefore that retailers generally, even in the sectors most hit by the downturn such as furniture, white goods and other big ticket items, should be encouraged by this. I believe that the ball is very much in the retailers' court. The message is that the shoppers are still coming into your stores, but how can you persuade them to buy from you rather than from anywhere else? I have no doubt that the retailers' buying, merchandising and operational teams are working extremely hard to answer that very question."
Denison concluded, "Although it is still difficult to see any signs of retail recovery from our figures retailers continue to have the opportunity to convert visits into sales – a challenge I have no doubt many will successfully rise to."
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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Chris Scoot
Synovate Retail Performance |
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34 Walker Avenue |
Telephone: +44 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. It supplies national and international retailers with essential business metrics to drive accountability and performance improvement.
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.
General information for Synovate Retail Performance, email info.rp@synovate.com
Synovate Retail Performance Limited is registered in England and Wales under number 3552625 with its registered address at Minerva House, 5 Montague Close, London, SE1 9AY, UK. Synovate Retail Performance is a wholly owned subsidiary of Synovate.
About Synovate
Synovate generates insights to help clients drive competitive brand, product and customer experience strategies. Now part of Ipsos, with offices in over 80 countries, our approach combines best in class global research capabilities with personalised service, local knowledge and the flexibility to create teams and processes that meet clients' specific requirements. At Synovate, our clients sit at the top of our organisational chart, driving us to continually develop more innovative research solutions that predict actual business outcomes.
For more information on Synovate visit www.synovate.com.