Retail Footfall Holding Up Well

The latest Retail Traffic Index (RTI) figures from research group SPSL show that despite a good deal of gloom from analysts and city-watchers, November was better than anticipated. Footfall on the high street was up by 2.7% on October, but still down by 0.8% on November 2006.

The view from SPSL’s retail psychologist, Dr Tim Denison, is “that it’s lovely to be able to bring some good news to the party this month, as pressures build in the run-up to Christmas. We had forecast that retail traffic would fall by 1.7% in the month against last year, so the decline of just 0.8% shows that activity on the high street has held up well in November.

“The long spell of cold, but dry weather was welcome particularly to the fashion sector. Key to it was that the period was sustained. When weather conditions oscillate at this time of year, people don’t form a mindset that they really need a new winter coat or pair of boots, but when the cold snap endures the initial thought is re-enforced and this can then trigger a shopping expedition.

“The other major stimulant last month was the arrival of the i-Phone in some UK stores. Though distribution is limited to just two of the main retailers, the rest have run counter-strategies and shoppers have been actively exploring the various offers.

“2007 has been an altogether quirky year for UK retailing. It has been difficult to predict right from the onset. Retailers have struggled to get into any rhythm over what is selling and what’s not; hard trends have simply not emerged. Demand has been fickle, making it hard for retailers to buy ahead with any certainty.

“We are all expecting next year to be tougher, but the focus of attention right now is the runway up to the Christmas take-off. We are not seeing signs of panic or distress on the high street. Indeed, there is a feeling of calm serenity, but we await to see whether the storm is one of frenzied shopping or ill winds.

“There has been nothing to throw us off our long-term forecast made in September. SPSL is expecting to see the number of shopping trips made over December fall by 2.1% against last year – so neither  a ‘famine nor feast year’ for retailers, but an outcome that I’m sure they would settle for. We shall see how things actually pan out over the coming weeks, but at this stage everything is still to play for.”

SPSL will be producing regular reports in the lead up to Christmas and in its aftermath. It is also inviting enquiries from media interested in exploring retail themes.

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.

SPSL would like to make it clear that the RTI is the only UK index that exclusively measures the number of shoppers actually entering stores (over 3,100 of them) as opposed to persons entering retail centres, where there may be stores as well as other non-retail premises and which may be accessed for a host of reasons other than in order to enter a store.

ABOUT SPSL

Established in 1989, retail research group SPSL is the largest European provider of proprietary tools for high accuracy customer traffic and behavioural analysis deployed by retailers. The company monitors more than 520 million visits to over3,100 retail premises per annum in the UK alone. Its customers include many of the retail industry’s most successful companies across all retail sectors except grocery, convenience and minor retail service sectors. SPSL is trusted by retailers to provide mission-critical Key Performance Indicators to measure customer volume, sales opportunities, conversion rates, staff stretch, promotional activity and in-store lay-outs. Its data features regularly in serious trade and consumer media and it exclusively provides the UK Retail Traffic Weather Map as seen in Retail Week and on the Retail Bulletin website. Director of SPSL, retail psychologist Dr. Tim Denison is a frequent and popular commentator on issues relating to shopping for national and regional broadcast, print and online media.

Using SPSL systems, retailers are able to reliably measure customer traffic flow on an ongoing hour-by-hour basis as well as determine in-store ‘weather’, assess the impact of marketing initiatives, and tailor staff levels according to customer demand rather than service supply. The company owes its unrivalled reputation and success on the accuracy, dependability and specialist nature of both its data and its support services. It runs its UK and European operations from its head office in Milton Keynes, England and invests heavily in developing advanced behavioural analysis and tracking tools to create ever more beneficial trading results for its customers and ever more enriched shopping experiences for theirs.

From 24th July 2006, SPSL has been appointed as sole official supplier of footfall data to the Greater London Authority (GLA) and Transport for London (TfL). The GLA has entrusted SPSL with this critical task in order to have a truly accurate measure of the impact of the existing Congestion Zone and the proposed Congestion Zone western extension on shopper numbers in central London. SPSL is proud to enter into this relationship with the GLA and to have demonstrated once again the superior accuracy, robustness and reliability of its data.

ABOUT THE RETAIL TRAFFIC INDEX (RTI)

The RTI from SPSL 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 www.customercounting.com.

ABOUT THE KPMG/SPSL RETAIL THINK TANK

The RTT was founded by KPMG and SPSL 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 www.retailthinktank.com

For PRODUCT information please contact:                                                                                                         

Dominic McGuinness or Dr Tim Denison

SPSL
34 Walker Avenue
Wolverton Mill
MILTON KEYNES
MK12 5TW
Tel: +44( 0)1908 682700
Fax: +44( 0)1908 682739
website: www.customercounting.com

MEDIA enquiries to:

Theo Chalmers

Verve Public Relations
Park House, 8 Grove Ash
Mount Farm
MILTON KEYNES
MK1 1BZ
Tel: +44( 0)1908 275271
Fax: +44( 0)1908 275272
e-mail: t.chalmers@vervepr.co.uk