Regional shopping centres have enjoyed a healthy increase in footfall since the end of the festive season, with eager consumers hunting for bargains in the post-Christmas sales.
According to the Retail Gazette, centres including east London’s Stratford Shopping Centre and centre:mk in Milton Keynes have confirmed a year-on-year increase in visitor numbers, fending off competition from larger hubs in the local area.
Stratford Shopping Centre is located within a short distance of Westfield Stratford City, which opened last September and is one of the largest retail destinations in Europe. Footfall at Stratford Shopping Centre was up by 38.3 per cent year-on-year in the run-up to Christmas.
“The Christmas period is always the busiest time of the year for shopping centres and, despite the challenging retail picture, we have been fit to burst,” said centre manager Andrew Norton. “Our retailers have been reporting good sales in the run-up to Christmas and we expect that many will benefit from another boost in the new year.”
However, British Retail Consortium director-general Stephen Robertson admitted to the Daily Telegraph this week that the industry could be set for further challenges in 2012.
