WHILE the UK's retail sector continues to suffer, North East shoppers are proving more resilient, with the region's shopping centres reporting higher than average footfall during the first half of the year.
Recent weeks have seen a growing sense of crisis among the UK’s retailers, with companies such as TJ Hughes and Jane Norman entering administration, while Mothercare, HMV and Thorntons have all announced plans for store closures.
Figures by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show that sales values were 0.6% lower on a like-for-like basis in June, while they were up on the 2.1% like-for-like drop in May.
While consumers are cautious the Experian Retail Footfall Index shows that the number of people visiting retail centres nationwide in June grew by 0.2% per cent year-on-year.
But figures from Eldon Square in Newcastle show that footfall over the first six months of the year grew by 5%, compared to the same period in 2010, with many shoppers taking advantage of later opening hours.
The late shopping Alive After Five initiative was launched last October by business improvement company NE1 Ltd and has helped city centre retailers net an extra £53.1m of business.
Patsie Beaton, operations manager at Eldon Square, said: “We are extremely pleased with this increased footfall at Eldon Square, which will in part be due to our extended trading hours, which have been an attractive addition to city-centre shopping.
“Even without the extended hours, we would have increased our footfall by around 2%, which is still a fantastic achievement given the fragile state of the wider retail sector.
“I believe that much of the increase has to do with how upbeat people in the North East are generally.
“Having worked at a shopping centre in the South, I have recognised that shoppers in the North East have a much more positive frame of mind and seem to be showing much more defiance when it comes to what they do with their leisure time.
“Also, many of Eldon Square’s fashion retailers benefit from the fact that Newcastle is known as a party city, with much of the clothing bought here in the centre to be worn on a night out, which is another thing that the people of the North East are reluctant to give up.”
