ShopperTrak: July 2012
Total U.S. shopper traffic in retail stores and malls for July 2012
This July, Americans celebrated their independence with barbeques, fireworks and shopping. With Independence Day, July 4, falling on a Wednesday, more consumers than usual took the entire week off. This extra vacation time provided more free time to shop compared to last year’s Fourth of July holiday. July’s retail foot traffic increased 8.1% compared to the previous month and increased 4.6% compared to the same period last year.
In addition to enjoying one more calendar day than in June, retailers also benefited from a mid-week national holiday this month. Some employees took the entire week off work for the Fourth, instead of only one extra day for a long weekend. Shoppers used these extra vacation days to browse for Independence Day accoutrements, which contributed to the month’s increased foot traffic in retail stores and malls.
Many parts of the country saw extreme heat and record-breaking temperatures. To escape the humidity, consumers headed to stores and malls, which drove the year-over-year gain in foot traffic. With shoppers out of the house and in air-conditioned stores and malls, some retailers marketed back-to-school sales, while others advertised “Christmas in July” specials around July 25. These promotions drove foot traffic to stores.
As September approaches, ShopperTrak forecasts a 4 percent increase in back-to-school sales for 2012, compared to the same period last year. If gas prices remain low, the people counting company expects year-over-year positive changes in foot traffic to continue through August.
ShopperTrak's data and analyses in this article are based on counting billions of shoppers in more than 45,000 locations across 74 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.