The upwards trend continues: footfall figures up once again in October, says Synovate
3 November 2009
UNITED KINGDOM — The latest Retail Traffic Index (RTI) figures from Synovate Retail Performance show that year-on-year shopper footfall was up again in October, the third such rise in the last four months. The RTI recorded a 1.2% rise in non-food shopping trips in October on the same month last year, significantly higher than the 0.1% year-on-year growth in September. Month-on-month figures were slightly down, standing at -0.3% for October versus September, but once again reflecting normal seasonal variations.
Synovate's Dr Tim Denison commented on the latest statistics, "The general upwards trend in year-on-year footfall levels that we have seen recently strengthened in October. This is the first month of 2009 where improvements at a national level were sustained for every week of the month. Of course, autumn 2008 was the time when shopping in the UK took its main nose-dive, so the comparators are somewhat weak, but the message is that things are now moving in the right direction. It certainly seems that consumers in the final quarter of the year are re-engaging their love of Britain's greatest free-to-visit indoor activity, namely shopping.
"The long spell of mild, dry weather will have played to retailing's advantage too. Cold, wet, darkening days do little to encourage people out onto the streets or stay in the shops longer at this time of year, but we have experienced such fine, warm and dry weather that many have carried on as though it were still summer. The ongoing spur to consumer confidence of house price rises in October for the sixth consecutive month (according to the Nationwide house price index) and the re-opening of the capital market for mortgages, are helping to contribute perhaps to the launch of another change in people's attitudes to spending.
"Many of us are benefiting from more disposable income now than we had a year ago, but so far this year we have prioritised paying off debt instead of spending. However, these latest figures from Synovate might indicate that more householders are now becoming receptive again to spending at least some of their extra cash, particularly when they come across the great value deals that savvy retailers have been laying in their paths.
"There is a fine balance to be had here. No-one wants to see a return to the upward spiralling trend in personal debt and financial disarray, but an injection in controlled spending by consumers will help to build economic comfort and stability this side of the turn of the year and looking further ahead, the general election.
"The recent improvement in retail footfall is far from universal or smooth. Over the last two months, it has really only been in the Midlands where a trend has emerged of consistently strong year-on-year growth (+3.5%). Elsewhere the situation remains volatile, but we are beginning to see better figures from London and the South East. Here we are predicting that footfall will build substantially in November on the back of its first year-on-year rise in 14 months (+0.2% on October 2008).
"The outlook for Christmas remains solid, even bright, as predicted last month. Retailers are in a more comfortable position than they were this time last year, when they were resigned to having far heavier stock levels than they would have liked. This year will not be a 'throw-away' Christmas and shoppers would be very well advised to buy when they see bargains and not expect prices to keep being cut as they were last year."
Enquiries for 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 |
Tel. +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. 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.