Shoppers Show ‘Ongoing Threat’ effect
On Friday 22nd July shopper numbers in the Congestion Zone were down 19.1% year on year (down 8.9 per cent [week on week) and on Saturday 23rd July numbers were down by 21.9 per cent y-on-y (down 8.9 per cent w-on-w).
Shopper numbers in central London had been seen to climb back to within 10% of year-on-year figures post 7/7. The renewed attacks may have created a deeper resistance to return to normal shopper patterns than after the 7/7 attacks due to their deeper psychological impact as an on-going phenomenon.
According to Dr Tim Denison, Director of Knowledge Management at SPSL, “After the 7/7 attacks we saw shopper confidence return to within 10% of pre-attack levels. It seemed likely that London-based shoppers had mentally filed the attacks as a ‘one-off’, whilst day trippers and tourists were perhaps more wary.
“What is becoming clear now is that shoppers cannot so easily justify shopping if there is the danger of further attacks. As the school holidays start we expect to see fewer parents prepared to take risks with their children by shopping with them in the capital, however slight the risk. Tourists and day-trippers may well be joined in their avoidance of Central London shopping by residents who will seek out-of-town and non-central locations for their non-essential retail therapy or curtail it altogether.
“The figures can only mean more pressure on already suffering central London retailers and increase calls on the MPC at the Bank of England to reduce the base rate.”
