ShopperTrak: January 2013

Total U.S. Shopper Traffic in Retail Stores and Malls for January 2013

Retailers pushed to extend the high level of holiday shopping and foot traffic by promoting post-holiday specials and markdowns on seasonal merchandise in January. However, as expected, shopper traffic continued to drop off significantly after the end of the holiday season.

Overall, retail foot traffic for January decreased 44.1 percent compared to December. Still, the first month of the year continued a positive year-over-year trend. Foot traffic for January 2013 increased 4 percent compared to the same month last year.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day fell on Jan. 21 this year, one week later than it did in 2012. This later date provided retailers extra time to market their post-holiday sales. Many shoppers responded, eager to hunt for bargains and redeem gift cards.

After the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, shopping activity continued its seasonal decline, with shoppers momentarily retreating from stores. Retail foot traffic dropped to its lowest levels during the last week of January, but ShopperTrak forecasts it to pick up again in February.

“This lull in shopper activity will end as Valentine’s Day approaches,” said Bill Martin, ShopperTrak founder. “We predict consumers’ fatigue will wear off and they’ll again browse the stores for their valentines and seize the sales of Presidents Day weekend.”

ShopperTrak's data and analyses in this article are based on counting billions of shoppers in more than 60,000 locations across 75 countries. ShopperTrak is a leading retail technology company that anonymously counts people, analyzes data and identifies opportunities to increase revenue for retailers, mall developers and entertainment venues. Find out more at http://www.shoppertrak.com.