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Buoyant Easter for Retailers
Listed under: News
Published: Friday, April 09, 2010
Shoppers threw caution to the wind this Easter Weekend, shrugging off concerns about the economy to make the most of the bargains on the high street.
According to recent statistics from market research company, Experian, footfall was up 4.3% on the previous year during the Friday and Saturday of the extended holiday – rising 0.1% on the month before.
Interestingly, the report shows sharp regional variations in footfall figures across the country, with some areas, such as Wales and the South West seeing their customer numbers rise by as much as 13.5% this Easter, and others, including the North East, North West, Eastern region and Scotland, experiencing a decline.
Visits to retail websites were also on the rise, increasing 0.8% year-on year.
Commenting on the findings, Anita Manan, a senior analyst at Experian, says, “The modest month-on-month uplift of 0.1% was buoyed by the wet weather conditions, influencing shoppers to head to the high street over the Easter weekend. It's also likely that the use of online promotions to drive in-store shopper traffic played a key role in offering retailers some welcome relief.”
Robin Goad, the director of Experian Hitwise, agrees, adding, “Retailers did particularly well on Easter Monday, which was the fifth busiest day for online retailers so far during 2010, with visits increasing by 3.6% year-on-year. Much of this growth came from department stores and house and garden retailers, with Amazon UK, John Lewis, Tesco Direct and B&Q all performing well.”
How was business for you this Easter? Email your thoughts to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
According to recent statistics from market research company, Experian, footfall was up 4.3% on the previous year during the Friday and Saturday of the extended holiday – rising 0.1% on the month before.
Interestingly, the report shows sharp regional variations in footfall figures across the country, with some areas, such as Wales and the South West seeing their customer numbers rise by as much as 13.5% this Easter, and others, including the North East, North West, Eastern region and Scotland, experiencing a decline.
Visits to retail websites were also on the rise, increasing 0.8% year-on year.
Commenting on the findings, Anita Manan, a senior analyst at Experian, says, “The modest month-on-month uplift of 0.1% was buoyed by the wet weather conditions, influencing shoppers to head to the high street over the Easter weekend. It's also likely that the use of online promotions to drive in-store shopper traffic played a key role in offering retailers some welcome relief.”
Robin Goad, the director of Experian Hitwise, agrees, adding, “Retailers did particularly well on Easter Monday, which was the fifth busiest day for online retailers so far during 2010, with visits increasing by 3.6% year-on-year. Much of this growth came from department stores and house and garden retailers, with Amazon UK, John Lewis, Tesco Direct and B&Q all performing well.”
How was business for you this Easter? Email your thoughts to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
