Shoppers turn away from high street and internet
Monday, 03 November 2008 11:05
Shopper numbers on the high street and online are dropping in the face of the threat of recession.
The Experian Retail FootFall index shows an annual 2.2 per cent fall in shopper numbers on the high street in October - despite some eight million sq feet of new floor space added over 2008.
However, shopper numbers were up 2.8 per cent in October from September - when they dropped 2.5 per cent.
Internet traffic to online retailers also fell for the first time this year - down 0.5 per cent - according to Hitwise.
Experian also reports a rise in the number of retailers going to the wall.
Retail business failures rose by 17.4 per cent on a year ago.
The study also revealed the effect of new 'super malls' - such as West London's new Westfield shopping centre, Liverpool One and Westfield Derby - on local businesses.
While the stores have attracted shoppers, this has been to the detriment of nearby areas.
Jonathan de Mello, director of retail at Experian, said: "This year has seen the opening of an unprecedented number of new shopping centres.
"For every winner there is a loser and Liverpool has clearly had a negative effect on nearby towns such as Wigan, and even on the rest of Liverpool itself, with John Lewis moving into the new Liverpool One scheme."
He added Westfield Derby has also hit other areas of retail in the city hard.
"The scheme has enabled the city to compete more effectively with Nottingham and Leicester, but now dominates the retail scene in Derby to the point where there is little or no need to venture outside the walls of the shopping centre," Mr de Mello said.
"The same is true of Leicester where there is little incentive now to leave the newly extended Shires shopping centre given its size. In the current economic climate, these schemes will inevitably impact on a large number of retailers."
He added: "As we get closer to Christmas, there will inevitably be winners and losers, and this year it is the discounters, value chains and supermarkets that are expected to come out on top."
On the online front, the discount chains and supermarkets have seen the greatest action.
Robin Goad, director of research at Hitwise, said: "Up until now, online retail has been surviving the economic downturn, but this month's data proves that the sector is not immune.
"Despite the overall decrease in traffic to the online sector, budget retailers are benefiting from the demands of more price-conscious consumers. UK internet searches for second-hand goods have increased 22 per cent over the last 12 months."
He added traffic to supermarkets was up ten per cent with the main growth not being food but for big ticket consumer electronics.
"Online consumers searching for laptops and washing machines are increasingly ending up at sites operated by the likes of Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's."
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