Outer London boost from congestion charge.
Suburban centres see customer increase
February 22 2003
Suburban shopping centres in outer London are seeing have seen an increase in trade in the first week of the central London congestion charge.
The latest figures from FootFall, which has been monitoring the impact of the charge day-by-day, show that the number of shoppers visiting key retailers outside the charge zone during the first four days of charging was up 2 per cent on the previous week, relative to the same period in 2002. The comparable number within the zone, was 3 per cent down
David Smyth, marketing manager at FootFall, said: “This figure affirms that congestion charges are making a quantifiable impact and gives weight to the supposition that shoppers are opting to visit alternative destinations outside the charging zone.
“This is good news for retailers and centres trading further afield, but another blow for those already affected by the closure of the Central Line and the recent heightened security fears.”
London has a ring of suburban shopping centres which have been the focus for development in recent years, increasing the competition for the West End. However, most Londoners would use public transport to get to West End shops, and so the ongoing closure of the Central Line, which serves Oxford Street, may be as big a factor as the charge.
John Lewis reported a 15.2 per cent drop in like-for-like trade at its flagship Oxford Street department store in the week before the congestion charge, showing the ongoing impact of the tube line closure.
Paul Burton, John Lewis’s director of communication, told the Times newspaper: “We are less concerned about the charge itself than people’s perception of the charge. Monday especially was very quiet. This was not because Oxford Street was harder to get to, it was because the London press had persuaded people that there was going to be chaos.”
The complex factors affecting West End sales are shown by a 40 per cent fall at John Lewis’s Oxford Street store on Saturday, the day of the anti-war demonstration, and a 10 per cent fall on Wednesday February 12, the day after tanks moved into Heathrow Airport to guard against terrorist attacks. Higher spending visitors from the US, Middle East and elsewhere are undoubtedly cutting back on travel for reasons other than the congestion charge.
