UK Retail dipped in September
Retail Traffic Index shows monthly slowdown
October 5 2003
UK retailers saw a slowdown in September, according to the latest Retail Traffic Index figures from SPSL.
Shopper numbers over the first fortnight were up 0.3 per cent on the same weeks of 2002, but then fell away sharply, down by 3.7 per cent for the remainder of the month. This left the index for the month as a whole down by 1.7 per cent year-on-year.
Dr Tim Denison, director of knowledge management at SPSL, said: “September is always a watershed month in the retail year. It marks the end of the busy summer season and the start of the gradual build up to Christmas. Along with other commentators, we had expected to see a year-on-year rise in retail traffic for the month overall.
“However, the bright spell at the start of the month was overshadowed by the fall off as the month wore on. It seems shoppers have not made up for their submission to the heat of August where we saw falls of 6.7 per cent month on month and 3.9 per cent year- on-year respectively.
“The onset of mixed, more autumnal weather over the second half of the month did not appear to kick start their hunt for new season goods. The 2.3 per cent deficit in year-on-year figures in Quarter three is also slightly higher than we had anticipated, but the summer months, including September, always prove to be the most fickle, showing the most year-on-year fluctuations in retail traffic.”
