Retail Parks take the lead in the battle for Shoppers

Retail FootFall Index - UK National (w/c 3 December)
Week-on-week (w/c 3 December 2007 vs w/c 26 November 2007): +4.7%
Year-on-year (w/c 3 December 2007 vs w/c 4 December 2006): - 3.8%

Department Store Index

Year-on-year (w/c 3 December 2007 vs w/c 4 December 2006): - 0.6%

Town Centre Index

Year-on-year (w/c 3 December 2007 vs w/c 4 December 2006): - 3.5%

Retail Park Index

Year-on-year (w/c 26 November 2007 vs w/c 4 December 2006): +2.2%


Retail parks are storming ahead in the battle for shopper attention, according to the latest figures from Experian® company FootFall.

Figures from the Retail FootFall Index (RFI) for the first week of December show an increase in visitors to popular out-of-town retail parks of 2.2% compared to the same week last year – a figure unseen across the rest of the retail sector. During the same period, year-on-year shopper numbers fell even further on the High Street, with a drop of 3.8%.

Martin Davies from Experian comments: “As the Christmas countdown clock ticks more loudly, there is little Christmas cheer on the High Street. The year-on-year fall of nearly 4% during what was predicted to be a crucial week was unwelcome news for retailers, with the week’s poor performance culminating in a thumping fall of 7.5% on Saturday.

“However, there are some emerging winners during this period. As well as the internet, which is reporting record visitor numbers this week, retail parks are heavily outperforming the rest of the sector as consumers head to out-of-town locations where multiple stores are under one roof – sheltered from the elements – and parking is often free.

“Department stores have also had more success in attracting visitors than the traditional High Street, with a much less painful decrease of 0.6% against 2006. It is likely that supermarkets benefited from last week’s poor weather as grocery trips provided rain-shy consumers with the opportunity to buy gifts alongside their weekly shop. Proving that consumers are not only financially-conscious but time and convenience-conscious too.”

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For further information please contact Leona Abson or Lyndsey George at the FootFall press office on 0121 711 5029.

Notes to Editors
Please note, all information presented in this press release and references to the Retail FootFall Index (RFI) is owned by FootFall, an Experian company. By issuing this release, FootFall is allowing the use of this statistical information in either printed, spoken or written format. However, the source of this information must be attributed to FootFall Limited, an Experian company, and the use of statistics to the Retail FootFall Index.

The Retail FootFall Index is endorsed by the BCSC, the membership organisation that represents the retail property industry, and, as such, is regarded as representative of UK shopping habits. The RFI now measures over 150 million shopper visits per month in over 200 retail centres throughout the UK, covering more than 12,000 retail outlets. Over 80% of the UK's population is contained within the catchment area of the basket of centres from which the RFI is produced.

About Experian
Experian is a global leader in providing information, analytical and marketing services to organisations and consumers to help manage the risk and reward of commercial and financial decisions. Combining its unique information tools and deep understanding of individuals, markets and economies, Experian partners with organisations around the world to establish and strengthen customer relationships and provide their businesses with competitive advantage. For consumers, Experian delivers critical information that enables them to make financial and purchasing decisions with greater control and confidence. Clients include organisations from financial services, retail and catalogue, telecommunications, utilities, media, insurance, automotive, leisure, e-commerce, manufacturing, property and government sectors.

Experian Group Limited is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. It has corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, and operational headquarters in Costa Mesa, California and Nottingham, UK. Experian employs around 15,500 people in 36 countries worldwide, supporting clients in more than 65 countries. Annual sales are in excess of $3.8 billion (£1.9 billion/
€2.8 billion).

For more information, visit the Group's website on www.experiangroup.com.
The word 'Experian' is a registered trademark in the EU and other countries and is owned by Experian Ltd and/or its associated companies.

About Experian’s Business Strategies division
FootFall is part Experian’s Business Strategies division, one of the UK's leading economic forecasters, and is a world leader in the provision of retail business information to the retail and retail property markets. The Business Strategies division provides an understanding of consumers, markets and economies in the UK and around the world, past, present and future. Its focus is consumer profiling and market segmentation, retail property analysis, economic forecasting and public policy research, supporting businesses, policy makers and investors in making tactical and strategic decisions. As part of the Experian group, it has access to a wealth of research data and innovative software solutions.

The division’s economic research team is devoted to analysing national, regional and local economies for a range of public and private sector clients. Its statisticians, econometricians, sociologists, geographers, market researchers and economists carry out extensive research into the underlying drivers of social, economic and market change.



Issued on behalf of FootFall by Bright, 10 St Catherine’s Court, Herbert Road, Solihull, West Midlands, B91 3QE For further information please contact Lyndsey George or Leona Abson at Bright on Tel: +44 (0) 121 711 5000 Fax: +44 (0) 121 711 5001 or Email: lyndsey@bright-consultancy.co.uk.

11/12/2007