Christmas 2012 retail footfall patterns similar to 2011
Retail footfall patterns in the run up to the 2012 Christmas period were similar to that of 2011 according to figures released Ipsos Retail Performance.
The Ipsos Retail Traffic Index, which records the level of footfall in non-food stores across the UK, highlights similar patterns of pre-Christmas shopping activity, with price discounting before Christmas Day now a more common strategy among high street retailers.
The index shows that shopper numbers in the week commencing 23 December were up 28.3% compared to November. The UK’s best performing region for retailers in the week was Scotland where shopper numbers were 7.1% higher compared with the same week of 2011.
In London and the South East footfall was down 6.9% in December, compared to the same month in 2011. However, London and the South East only saw a week-on-week drop of 10.2% during the week of 23 December compared to the previous week, against a UK average fall of 12.8%.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Peter Luff, president of Ipsos Retail Performance, said: “Retailing appears to be in a period of transition and our latest RTI statistics show that the more advanced retailers are adapting their pricing, promotional and marketing strategies over a longer period to attract customers into their stores. Pre-Christmas sales have now become more common and the traditional post-Christmas Sales are simply a continuation of this longer more managed trend.
“As has become the tradition, many consumers hold onto their money to take advantage of even greater discounts after Christmas, especially for seasonal stock that retailers really need to sell, but on the whole it appears that most shoppers now see retailers offering discounted goods throughout the entire festive period.
“It really has become a game of cat and mouse between shoppers and retailers, especially as retailers are competing with each other in challenging economic times. Knowing the customer – how they think, behave and are likely to shop – has becoming an even more critical element of the ‘operational differential’ for retailers as we progress into 2013.”
