Shopper numbers suggest more believe England can win
Retail research group SPSL’s Retail Traffic Index figures for the first England game of this World Cup show that a greater proportion of people stayed away from the shops than for the last World Cup in 2002, suggesting perhaps that more people believe England can win this time.
SPSL had forecast a UK wide week-on-week drop in retail traffic of 8.9% based on its figures from 2002, but in fact numbers were down 13.7% on Saturday 10th June versus the previous Saturday (3rd June). As predicted DIY and homeware, because of a strong male shopper bias suffered worst, being down 15.0%. Interestingly this figure is slightly lower than predicted (-16.6%) suggesting perhaps that more women are watching this World Cup than last.
Dr Tim Denison, Director of Knowledge Management at SPSL commented; “It is likely that more women got into the World Cup match spirit this year and that the hot weather also encouraged people to engage in a weekend party atmosphere where barbecues and family-centric events tie people to the home. Retailers can be encouraged that there will be some displacement of non-football-focussed shopping, which suggests that shopper numbers on days either side of England games are likely to rise slightly.
“What perhaps is most significant is that a greater proportion of potential shoppers stayed home than at the start of the 2002 finals. Could this signify the greater and more-widely held belief in English success now?”
