Bringing you the latest consumer behaviour trends throughout the globe - PDF document

Bringing you the latest consumer behaviour trends throughout the globeQ1 2015 EXPERIAN FOOTFALL:GLOBAL SHOPPER TRENDS REPORTwww.footfall.com + 44 (0) 121 711 4652  \r\f\r\n\t\f\t\f
\n  Welcome to Experian FootFall’s brand new Global Shopper Trends Report. We’ve expanded our popular EuroShopper Trends Report to bring you unique consumer activity insights across the world.Over the past quarter, both Europe and the Asia-Pacic region have enjoyed a strong performance, as recovery from nancial austerity begins to be felt internationally. Ireland and India in particular are racing ahead, securing their position among the world’s fastest-growing economies.The overall European retail footfall winner in Q1 2015 was Austria, which saw a signicant increase in consumer activity. Australia, Spain and Portugal also performed well – the latter two posting a particularly impressive result considering the severity in the Eurozone’s economic diculties last year. +0.1%Overall global footfall performance Year-on-Year was +0.1%. intro At the other end of the scale, Hong Kong’s sluggish tourism sector is beginning to impact domestic retail trac gures. Meanwhile the UK is not managing to convert economic aggression into purchasing power. France’s footfall also suered heavily during the quarter, although the spending levels of those who did go shopping managed to save the country’s retail sales gures. 03 Challenging regions 04 Europe started the year on a positive note, posting a +0.6% increase in retail trac across the continent. All three strong performing regions in Q4 2014 – Austria, Ireland and Spain – continued in the same form during the rst quarter of 2015, posting +2.7%, +2.4% and +1.5% ear-on-Year footfall gains respectively. Europe+2.7% Year-on-Year gain for AustriaEurope overall performance Year-on-Year was +0.6% europe In Austria, strong footfall results were matched by impressive retail sales during the quarter. Austria has performed consistently well over the past 12 months, having weathered economic austerity much better than several of its Eurozone counterparts.Austria now has the second highest per capita income in Europe, which means consumers have more disposable cash in their pockets – welcome news for retailers and shopping centres! Ireland, meanwhile, was in a positive state of mind throughout Q1. The country secured the title of Europe’s fastest growing economy, which in turn boosted both consumer condence and retail trac. The European Union has revealed that an export boom in Dublin is one of the main reasons behind Ireland’s impressive performance, and that this economic strength will continue; Ireland’s GDP growth is predicted to outstrip nearest rival the UK this year. Europe 2nd highestper capita income in Europe \r\f\f\n\t  Europe’s fastestgrowing economy AUSTRIAIRELAND +2.4%* +2.7%** footfall Year-on-Year In Spain, economic growth has been forecasted to reach +2.8% this year, which is double the rate of improvement last year. 06 Spanish footfall up by 1.5%This has boosted both consumer condence and shopper trac, but unfortunately has not translated browsing into buying; 2015 retail sales gures were down on both January and February. Three further European regions posted positive results, the rst of which was Italy. After suering its worst recession since World War II, last year the country shows signs of recovering, with Year-on-Year footfall up +1.6% during Q1 2015. Although fragile, unexpected increases in both consumer condence and retail sales point to better times ahead for the Italian retail sector. Europe Economic growth doubledSPAIN * footfall Year-on-Year +1.5%* SPAINITALY Retail trac in Portugal and Poland improved by +0.3% 07 The nal countriesto boost their performance were Poland and Portugal.Unexpectedly, Poland managed to turn around its fortunes after languishing at the bottom of the footfall league tables throughout last year to improve retail trac by +0.3.%. Although a small gain, it is very signicant for a country which endured tough times in 2014 – and predictions that retail investment will reach €1 billion in 2015 shows this is the start of better things to come. Portugal also posted a +0.3% footfall gain during Q1 2015, bouncing back from a consumer activity decline, although not as severe as Poland. Improving employment gures boosted both consumer condence and retail sales, driven in part by stabilising ination, keeping prices consistent. At the other end of the scale, four regions saw their quarterly footfall gures decline at the start of the year, starting with Germany. After struggling with economic stagnation during 2014, the country’s diculties continue into 2015, with Year-on-Year footfall slipping -0.5%. Although the Ifo Institute for Economic Research has predicted a strong upswing for Germany’s economy, thanks to falling oil prices and depreciation of the Euro, it seems this change of fortunes is yet to be felt by the general public. Surprisingly, the UK also recorded a disappointing result this past quarter, with annual footfall decreasing -0.8%, despite being seen by many as the economic recovery pace-setter within Europe. As earlier gures show, Ireland is set to overtake its neighbour in the growth stakes. A bumper Christmas led many consumers to reign back their spending during January; consumer condence and retail sales were in the negative. However, the good news for UK businesses is that both indicators picked up in March – pointing towards a return to improvement. PL PT DE GB Europe  \r\f\r\n\t\f\t\f
\n  In the UK for the for the rst quarter of 2015 we’ve seen a small decline in shopper numbers against the same time in 2014, although consumer condence and retail sales have been relatively strong.This reduction in shoppers was more pronounced towards the end of the quarter where, with some schools on Easter holidays, perhaps families found other outdoor activities more appealing in the comparatively warmer weather in late March. Steve RichardsonRegional Director for the UK and Ireland A dramatic change in fortunes for Switzerland at the end of 2014 – it dropped from strongest performing region in Q3 into the negative in Q4 – continued into Q1 2015, with footfall -0.9% down on the same period last year 09 In Switzerland footfall was down on the same quarter last yearThe biggest losing region in the rst quarter of the year, however, was France, where consumer activity dipped -1.1%. Not all retail businesses are feeling disheartened though; the grocery sector seems to be defying lower footfall levels, with both Casino and Carrefour reporting increased prots. In fact, across the board, retail sales and consumer condence remains positive, demonstrating that those who do venture out to the shops are still keen to make purchases.  Europeconsumer condence remains positive FRANCEThe strong Franc is aecting consumer spending, and naturally retail trac followed suit. 10 Although Asia-Pacic as a region saw consumer activity drop by -0.7% in the rst quarter of 2015, there were some strong individual performances. Japan and Australia were the major winners; Japan posted a +3.4% improvement in consumer activity, while Australia recorded a +0.6% increase in retail trac over three months. Asia-Pacic+3.4% improvement in Japanese consumer activity APAC overall performance Year-on-Year was -0.7%Asia Buoyed by record low interest rates, a at unemployment rate and increasing consumer condence, in Australia the increase in retail footfall comes as no surprise.Unseasonably warm weather along the eastern seaboard in particular, drew shoppers into stores post-Christmas. Although this didn’t translate into a signicant increase in retail sales, there is cause for optimism. Historically the federal budget announcement, which takes place in May, has resulted in a sharp decline in footfall. However this traditionally only lasts for 2 – 3 weeks prior to people making their way back into stores. Adam IoakimRegional Director for Australia and New Zealand Japan emerged from recession at the end of 2014. A two-year programme of quantitative easing is nally starting to show in both GDP growth and footfall gures. Improvements in both the labour market and wages have stimulated retail activity, which climbed Month-on-Month during the quarter – rising a massive +27.9% between February and March.However, it’s not all good news for Japan poor growth in China has hurt the country’s export market, although the impact has been somewhat oset by improvements in trading with the USA and Europe. Asia-Pacic Gradual 3.29% cut in corporate tax rate will support further economic recovery JAPAN* footfall Year-on-Year In Australia, one of the most signicant drivers behind the +0.6% footfall increase is falling unemployment, which dropped 6.1% in March alone, boosting consumer condence and the number of people with a disposable income in the process. 13 Australia unemployment dropped 6.1% in March This, combined with the recent rescinding of penalty rates on employees working weekends in South Australia, should encourage retailers to open longer and capitalise on the current good mood. A word of caution, though. Retail businesses may be feeling buoyed by recent consumer condence, but analyst IGD has warned that intensifying competition – in the grocery market in particular – could lead to a price war, which would impact vendors’ prot margins despite increasing sales gures. Asia-Pacic* footfall Year-on-Year Unemployment fell6.1%AUSTRALIA +0.6%* India saw a +0.1% rise in footfall. Another region faring well during the opening quarter was IndiaAlthough not as strong as Australia, its performance is indicative of the increasing consumer spending power the country is gathering; in a recent budget speech, Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, revealed that India now has the world’s fastest growing economy. It also comes as welcome news to industry experts, who feared unseasonal rainfall could accelerate ination, which would impact consumer spending. The main region which experienced a downturn in fortunes during Q1 was Hong Kong, where consumer activity slipped by -0.2% Year-on-Year. Domestic retail sales fell in January and atlined in February, whilst the country is becoming concerned that its once-strong luxury shopping market is now failing to attract sucient tourists.Political unrest and cross-border tensions have been blamed for the slump, which saw Chinese tourism levels fall 80% during March alone. More than 10,000 stores, tourist attractions and eateries have agreed to launch a series of promotions, in a bid to reverse this decline in retail trac. HONG KONG Asia-Pacic -0.2%*INDIA* footfall Year-on-Year +0.1%* Whilst there is some variable performance across the countries for Q1 2015, this is not necessarily cause for concern.Footfall is a powerful metric; however in this multi-channel landscape there are a number of other factors which can also inuence this performance. How retailers adapt to this changing landscape will dictate their success. Dave SheppardGlobal Head of Consulting Services All retail trac gures used in this report are original insights from Experian FootFall, the leading global retail intelligence service. About the Global Shopper Trends Report We believe it is not enough to understand consumer trends, but acting on that insight to deliver rapid and measurable return on investment.To nd out more about how economic, social, cultural and political events are impacting your region, visit our online trends centre. This Experian FootFall’s Global Retail Trac Indexprovides a barometer of international shopper condence. We also oer the technology and consultancy to help retailers and shopping centres unlock the potential revealed in this data. We’ll support you with recommendations and action plans for tangible performance improvement, from pilot project through to full retail intelligence solution deployment.@footfallinsight To nd out how Experian FootFall can improve your prots visit www.footfall.com or contact our global consultancy team on ConsultancyServices@FootFall.com Europe Asia-Pacic Introduction Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Europe Europe Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Europe Europe Introduction Europe Introduction Asia-Pacic Introduction Introduction Europe Europe Europe Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Introduction Europe Europe Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Introduction Introduction Europe Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Europe Introduction Introduction Europe Introduction Europe Europe Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Europe Introduction Asia-Pacic Introduction Europe Introduction For further information connect with Steve on LinkedIn For further information connect with Steve on LinkedIn For further information connect with Steve on LinkedIn Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Europe Europe Europe Introduction Introduction Introduction Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Europe Europe Europe Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Europe Europe Europe For further information connect with Adam on LinkedIn For further informationconnect with Adam on LinkedIn For further informationconnect with Adam on LinkedIn Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Europe Europe Europe Introduction Introduction Introduction Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Europe Europe Europe Introduction Introduction Introduction Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Europe Europe Europe Introduction Introduction Introduction Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Europe Europe Europe Introduction Introduction Introduction Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Asia-Pacic Europe Europe Europe Introduction Introduction Introduction For further information connect with Dave on LinkedIn For further information connect with Dave on LinkedIn For further information connect with Dave on LinkedIn