London’s Retail Slump Ends
Dramatic figures from SPSL’s Congestion Zone Retail Traffic Index released today show that London’s retail slump which coincided with the terrorist attacks on 7th July as well as the 60% increase in the Congestion Zone charge, is over.
The improvement in Central London’s shopper numbers last month show a drop of only 0.9% compared to November 2004, better even than the country as a whole which was down 1.6%, indicating that much of the damage to shopper’s confidence created by the July bombings has not only been repaired but reversed.[box]”This is extremely good news for Central London and its retail community. If it is sustained it will be seen as a great result for the campaign coordinated by the New West End Company, which has worked hard to bring London’s shoppers back”Dr Tim Denison[/box]
According to Dr Tim Denison, Director of Knowledge Management at SPSL; “Since the July bombings we have seen a progressive, but slow, improvement in retail traffic. These latest figures are dramatically different. They, together with the sales figures released by the London Retail Consortium yesterday, signal an end to London’s retail slump – just four months after Central London was brought to a standstill. We had anticipated that full reparation would take at least six months, in line with the experience of Madrid following the train blasts there.
“This is extremely good news for Central London and its retail community. If it is sustained it will be seen as a great result for the campaign coordinated by the New West End Company, which has worked hard to bring London’s shoppers back . The hope now is that the renewed confidence will continue throughout the Christmas season, and that day trippers and tourists will be drawn back to the capital to shop for those extra special gifts.”
The capital’s figures fly in the face of those in the region as a whole (London and South East England), where shopper numbers fell heavily again last month by 5.5% against November 2004. Static house prices, rising household bills, petrol prices and taxes continue to leave their mark on the general state of economic confidence and shopping in the South East.
