Discounting fails to fire up footfall

Discounting at Marks & Spencer and Debenhams last Thursday temporarily lifted shopper numbers but overall footfall fell 3.73% year-on-year last week.

Thursday, which saw the start of the first round of pre-Christmas high street discounting, saw footfall figures rise by 5.06% according to Experian. 

However the temporary promotions had a knock on effect on weekend shopper numbers, which fell 5.9% over Saturday and Sunday.

Jonathan de Mello, head of retail consultancy, Experian Business Strategies, said: "Although retailers are offering large discounts, there is still little sign of Christmas in terms of increasing numbers of footfall. Current levels are down -5.9% on the comparable weekend last year, suggesting that shoppers are still being cautious." 

"If we take the Marks & Spencer's discount as an example, the event may have increased footfall by 5.5% compared to the same day last year but retailers need to exercise caution with this approach as it can have a significant impact on margins."

De Mello added: "We may well see a negative year-on-year trend continuing at least until Thursday [this week] as the tail off for discounts is quite rapid and the average shopper will probably wait another week before returning to the shops."

"In effect the M&S and Debenhams Sales have had a negative effect on footfall in the days after these took place due to people bringing forward their purchases at these retailers which had a knock on effect on the weekend's sales."

House of Fraser will hold a special pre-Christmas Sale this Thursday and Friday. Selfridges is also offering discounts of up to 20% this week.