Holiday at home Easter boosts shopper numbers significantly, says Synovate
24 四月 2009
UNITED KINGDOM — The Synovate Retail Traffic Index (RTI) figures for the Easter fortnight (5th to 18th April inclusive) released today show that retail footfall (a measure of those actually entering shops) was very significantly up over the Easter fortnight; by 7.5% compared to Easter fortnight 2008 (16th to 29th March) and it was far better than even Synovate's upbeat forecast uplift of 4.1%.
According to Synovate retail psychologist Dr Tim Denison, "footfall levels over the Easter fortnight are very encouraging. We had forecast them to be significantly higher than last year, but we had certainly not anticipated the figures to be as strong as they finally turned out to be. On the back of a better than expected March, in both sales and traffic terms, retailers can take some heart. The strong uplift was aided no doubt by some good weather around the country over the full fortnight in contrast to last year when retailers suffered from the combined effects of the earliest Easter since 1913 and some very poor weather. The contrast would probably have been even greater this year if some areas hadn't suffered persistent drizzly rain during the Easter break itself."
The boost was felt particularly in the holiday-destination regions of the country and reflected by the traffic congestion that was recorded on the roads. In Scotland and Northern Ireland retail footfall was up by a very healthy 14.0%; in South West England and Wales it was up by 8.4%. Meanwhile London and the South East saw a retail footfall increase of 'only' 5.4%. This may well indicate that, as widely predicted, holidaying in the UK is indeed taking over from trips abroad, particularly while the pound is so weak internationally.
Denison continued, "We should not get too carried away about the strength of the Easter boost. Though stronger than last year, it was the third weakest Easter fortnight of the decade. Despite this welcome uplift, and signs that the decline in demand is beginning to level off, retailers are still acutely aware that consumers are ever more price conscious, ever more choosy and ever more likely to haggle as we look forward to the next likely 'shopping surge' – the May bank holiday weekend (2-4th May)."
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
|
Chris Scoot
Synovate Retail Performance |
|
|
34 Walker Avenue |
Tel. +44 1908 682 700 |
|
Theo Chalmers
Managing Director, Verve Public Relations |
|
|
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 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.