FOOTFALL has increased by almost 300,000 at Middlesbrough’s largest shopping centre, supporting claims from national retailers that confidence in spending is beginning to return.
The Cleveland Centre has recorded an extra 290,852 people through its doors this year compared to the same period in 2011.
Monthly footfall is up by an average of 32,217 and the shopping centre is forecasting a record 10.2 million people to visit by the end of this year.
Centre manager, Debbie Anderson, said: “We are absolutely delighted with the latest footfall figures which show that more and more people are visiting The Cleveland Centre because they like the shops and what we have to offer.
“When we re-branded last year, we put a big effort into marketing the centre, focusing on the fantastic range of stores as well as the exciting events programme we put on for shoppers.
“That variety has proved a winning formula as we’re seeing more people through the centre and I’m confident that will continue in the run up to Christmas, when we have even more events and activities planned and new national stores opening.”
The footfall figures, which were compiled by retail intelligence agency Shopper Track, show that visitor numbers increased week on week for 20 consecutive weeks between January and October 2012.
Average monthly footfall is up by 4.2% from 768,562 last year to 800,879 this year.
