This Easter's cold weather keeps shoppers at bay

Experian Retail FootFall Index - UK National
Easter Bank Holiday weekend year-on-year

Change for Easter Bank Holiday weekend
(21st - 23rd March 2008 v 6th - 8th April 2007): +6.8%

Change for Good Friday (21st March 2008 v 6th April 2007): +7.6%
Change for Easter Saturday (22nd March 2008 v 7th April 2007): +6.1%

Experian Retail FootFall Index - UK National

Change for weekend
(21st - 23rd March 2008 v 23rd – 25th March 2007): -18.6%

Change for Friday (21st March 2008 v 23rd March 2007): +5.9%
Change for Saturday (22nd March 2008 v 24th March 2007):
+2.76%

Hitwise retail Internet sites’ activity

Change for Easter Bank Holiday weekend
(Week ending 22nd March 2008 v week ending 7th April 2007): +2.2%


• The Retail FootFall Index reveals that retail activity picked up over Easter and the Easter weekend showed a 6.8 per cent increase compared with Easter weekend 2007. However Easter last year was especially poor for retailers, down over 10 per cent on 2006, so the comparison is from a lower base.

• Even though shopper numbers were up compared with last Easter, it is uncertain whether visits converted to purchases as concern prevailed over the state of the economy, rising living costs and debt.

• Last year it was thought that the exceptional warm weather kept shoppers away, but this year it was the cold that served as a deterrent. It seems that whichever way the wind blows retailers are the losers in the current economic climate.

• Even though this Easter experienced a higher number of shoppers, the weekend was over 18 per cent down on the same (non-Easter) weekend last year. This decline is partly due to the fact that the shops were closed on the Easter Sunday but it also provides some insight to how shopper numbers are in general decline, a trend that is continuing into 2008.

• The reason for the decline in shopper numbers is almost certainly twofold; first, there has been a rise in Internet sales as more people prefer to shop online. Second, the state of the economy and rising living costs have placed a real strain on disposable incomes. In addition, the continuing credit crunch has made it far more difficult for people to fund their shopping trips on credit and store cards.

• Online visits are up 2.2 per cent compared with last Easter according to Hitwise, the Experian-owned internet tracking company. This confirms the pattern of increasing Internet activity at the expense of High Street visits.

25/03/2008