Footfall up 5% on May Bank Holiday
Published: 12 May, 2010
Footfall rose 1.6 per cent in April compared with the same time last year, while May Bank Holiday saw a year-on-year rise of nearly 5 per cent.
The Experian Footfall index has revealed three consecutive months of positive growth for the first time in two years. The wet May Bank Holiday resulted in a substantial increase of 4.9 per cent, while the outcome of the General Election saw 1,9 per cent fewer shoppers on the high street on Friday 7 May compared to the same Friday last year. By Saturday performance was flat compared to last year, but shoppers returned in their droves on Sunday resulting in a significant 5.5 per cent increase year-on-year.
As a region, Wales and the South West impacted the most on national footfall with a significant 10.2 per cent rise in April 2010. Meanwhile London saw a decent increase of 2.4 per cent.
According to Experian’s senior analyst Anita Manan: “April’s performance is encouraging, given we saw some sunshine last month as well as the half-term holidays and six days of Air Traffic disruption caused by volcanic ash.
“In spite of February’s snow impacting figures at the start of spring, in the past three months we have witnessed a succession of positive year-on-year rises, the first in two years. This may indicate consumer confidence is stabilising, although we should remain cautious since tough trading conditions persist and some retailers have been discounting heavily to clear stock.”
She adds: “It will be interesting to see how the ultimate outcome of the General Election impacts on shopping behaviour going forwards in 2010.”
