It’s shops that need the retail therapy

Mar 3 2008 by Iain Laing, The Journal

A RETAIL footfall index for February showed a continued decline in shopping visits, with year-on-year comparisons recording seven successive months of falling numbers.

Visitors to retail centres and shopping centres fell by 1.5% this February compared with February 2007.

The half-term holiday produced a slight rise in visits but the temporary boost does not reverse the overall year-on-year decline and, given the current economic climate, it is probable that many recent visits were confined to browsing.

Martin Davies, director of retail consultancy at Experian, which conducted the research, said: “The current seven-month decline in shopper numbers has spanned all the main retail periods including the autumn and spring collections and Christmas in between.

“February’s Experian Footfall Index brings little cheer to retailers and affirms how shopping trends are in the process of a fundamental shift.”

Commenting on the Experian FootFall Index for February, Jonathan Foster, retail analyst at Ernst and Young, said “After a better than expected discount driven January, February’s poor figures underline the tough trading conditions for UK retailers. With little change in consumer sentiment in 2008, the sector outlook is gloomy, particularly for big ticket goods such as electricals and furniture.”