Trade ban

Shopping center footfall between 5 and 11 March 2018

The first Sunday with trade ban is behind us. Having regard to an enormous interest of experts and public opinion in the impact of the ban on the trade and service sector, the Management Board of Retail Institute has decided to disclose results of shopping centers between 5 and 11 March 2018.

The Retail Institute analysis is based on the data from more than 110 shopping centers which report to the Institute their daily footfall and takes into consideration major parameters which affect the footfall in shopping centers, i.e. their size, location and type of offer.

“The footfall in more than 110 shopping centers in week 10., i.e. between 5 and 11 March 2018, plunged by -13.5% compared with the same period in 2017, however, the number of visits during first six days of the week in 2018, i.e. between Monday and Saturday, was only lower by -0.2% compared with the same period in 2017,” said Anna Szmeja, President of Retail Institute. In other words, between 5 and 11 March, shopping centers had almost one million customers less than in 2017, with the drop being directly linked to the new Sunday trade ban.

Shopping centers located on the outskirts noted an even bigger drop, -15.3% visitors less than last year; whereas centers located downtown managed better (-12%). However, in both cases the effect of the trade ban on results is clearly visible. Having regard to the results of shopping centers in the first six days of the week only, from Monday through Saturday, centers located on the outskirts recorded an upward trend (+0.6%).

56.41% of all last-week visitors came on Thursday (16.29%), Friday (17.31%) and record-breaking Saturday (22.81%). These figures are similar to the footfall distribution of shopping centers before Christmas. Saturday visits alone made up 2.81% of all visits, which raises questions about the results of the services, catering and entertainment sector operating on the premises of shopping centers during the analyzed period.

Retail Institute announces it will put forward a new project to analyze the number of visits of shopping center customers. “In 2017, the shopping center footfall increased by 5% compared with 2016. Despite this positive trend, a number of shopping centers has been recording a decreasing number of visits, the so called traffic decline. We would like to invite several dozen commercial and service businesses representing various product categories to study this phenomenon in detail, taking into consideration choices and purchasing decisions of customers. Companies willing to join our research and project are welcomed to contact us,” said Anna Szmeja.

“Conclusions drawn on the basis of results from a single week may lead to misjudgment. We will need at least 6 months to evaluate the impact of the trade ban,” said Anna Szmeja, President of Retail Institute. Experts suggest that while studying the results, weather factor and strong media coverage of consequences of the trade ban should be taken into consideration as well.

Retail Institute (RI) is a center of dialogue, research and analysis as well as an excellent venue for discussions among retail real estate experts. The Institute supports development of shopping centers, retail chains and e-commerce businesses through know-how, experience and innovative solutions.