San Jose, Calif. – Despite declining store traffic during March 2015, retailers benefited from increased sales per shopper (SPS), average transaction value (ATV) and conversion rates. According to the March 2015 RetailNext Retail Performance Pulse, SPS grew 5.8% compared to the same month a year earlier, perhaps reflecting pent-up consumer demand after a difficult winter.
In addition, ATV grew 3.5% and conversions increased 0.9%, further suggesting consumers who visited stores were looking to make purchases. Returns stayed flat.
Not all in-store retail trends for the month were positive, however. Traffic dropped 8.2%, likely reflecting lingering bad weather in much of the country. Transactions declined 5.8% and sales fell 3.2%.
The first Saturday of the month, March 7, showed the highest sales, traffic, transactions, conversion and SPS. The lowest traffic, sales and transactions occurred Tuesday, March 3.