Consumer confidence wavering, says data company

22 Apr 2014

Retail intelligence company Springboard has released figures showing that Easter shopping was down from last year.

The bank holiday saw a drop in footfall by 1.9% compared to 2013, despite reports in recent months that consumers, homeowners and businesses feel more confident than they have since the start of the financial crisis.

Marketing and insights director at Springboard, Diane Wehrle, said: ‘People are clearly still very nervous about spending and these figures reveal the fragility of the recovery. Easter weekend is the next big trading opportunity for retailers after Christmas and a huge opportunity, but even good weather was not enough to encourage people to go out and spend’.

However, a report issued by Springboard earlier in April gave a clear indication that shoppers were returning. Figures for March showed that footfall was 1.8% higher than the same month in 2013. In particular, the high street footfall was up by 2.6% on the previous year.