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Early Easter prompts an increase in High Street shopper traffic

An early Easter is set to boost Good Friday footfall on the High, according to data from shopper traffic specialists, ShopperTrak.

Shopper traffic on Good Friday is expected to increase 2% on the daily average, the ShopperTrak National Retail Index suggests, and Easter Saturday’s footfall is expected to be up 1% on the daily average.

This follows the trend from the last five years, where an early Easter has sparked a greater number of shopping visits on the High Street, which could be due to early Easter Bank Holidays falling in and around paydays, granting consumers a bit of disposable income and free time to shop.

Steve Richardson, Director at ShopperTrak, explained:

“Historically, when Easter falls before or during the first week in April, it is good news for bricks-and-mortar retailers. Indeed, looking back over the last five years, Good Friday footfall increases on the years when Easter falls early – as it has done in 2013, 2015 and 2016 – with shopper traffic up 4.2%, 5.6% and 4.2% on the daily average, respectively. This can be attributed to the fact that an early Easter usually aligns to paydays, meaning consumers feel flush, and a few extra days off work motivate shopping trips.”

“Additionally, we are increasingly seeing retailers discounting around Easter, making the Bank Holiday somewhat of a ‘Spring Saver’, which will also act as a driver of shopper traffic to the High Street. This, combined with the early Easter, means we expect shopper traffic over Good Friday to increase 2% on the daily average, with footfall on Saturday also buoyed by this, up 1% on the daily average.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tim Barton .