Complete RSS Feed

Kelly Van Tuinen / Kristin Ellertson

The Reynolds Communications Group

Mobile: (773) 230-1114 / (847) 338-4260

Holiday Retail Sales on a Roll: Increases Over Last Week and Year

12/21/2011 10:34:10 PM

Week ending Dec. 17 saw a 21.7 sales increase over previous week, 1.3 percent year-over-year increase

CHICAGO, Ill. – Dec. 21, 2011 – Holiday shoppers continued to make the retail cash registers ring last week, boosting sales 21.7 percent over the previous week and 1.3 percent over the same week last year.

According to ShopperTrak — the world's largest provider of retail and mall foot-traffic counting services — sales increases during the week ending Dec. 17 made this December on pace to have higher retail sales than last year. Month-to-date figures are up .5 percent over December 2010.

“December’s retail gains will likely continue all the way through Christmas and the end of Hanukkah,” said the founder of ShopperTrak, Bill Martin. “As the weather gets colder and these important days get closer, retailers should be ready to service customers looking to buy.”

Super Saturday Sales Results

Despite the high week-over-week returns, the weekend of Dec. 16 – Dec. 18 showed slight year-over-year declines in sales. Super Saturday, the last Saturday with regular shopping hours before Christmas, had a 0.7% percent sales decline over the same day in 2010 and consumers spent $7.5 billion compared to $7.55 billion spent last year.

According to ShopperTrak, the additional Saturday between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year may have led more shoppers to procrastinate finishing their holiday shopping. Impulse or “add-on” purchases may also be lower this season, as many of holiday shoppers make purchasing decisions before walking into a store, due to online research and planned shopping outings.

Despite weekend sales declines, week-over-week gains continued from the previous week ending Dec. 10, which had a 10.6 percent increase in sales, and reversed the year-over-year losses for that week. ShopperTrak expects the upward sales trend to continue.

“This week holds an extra shopping day between Thanksgiving and Christmas compared to past years,” Martin said. “Shoppers will be ready to spend the rest of their holiday budgets. Stores that monitor hourly foot-traffic, staff appropriately to the number of shoppers in the store and prepare inventory for additional traffic will be most successful.”

About ShopperTrak

About the National Retail Sales Estimate (NRSE)

The data contained within this news release is the property of ShopperTrak Corporation and may be reprinted, published or broadcast, provided proper credit is given to the National Retail Sales Estimate (NRSE), the ShopperTrak Retail Traffic Index and ShopperTrak Corporation as the supplier of the information.

For more information on ShopperTrak’s Retail Traffic Indices and the National Retail Sales Estimate of GAFO Retail Sales, please visit ShopperTrak’s Website, www.shoppertrak.com.

###

Media Contacts:

Teresa Krueger

ShopperTrak

(312) 529-5414

Kelly Van Tuinen/Kristin Ellertson

The Reynolds Communications Group

(312) 541-9300 ext. 107 / ext. 101

Holiday Season Retail Sales to Perform Better Than Projected

12/20/2011 8:16:42 AM

—ShopperTrak raises holiday retail sales forecast—

CHICAGO, Ill. —Dec. 20, 2011 — Shoppers are spending more than previously projected —and in fewer trips — this holiday season.

According to ShopperTrak — the world's largest provider of retail and mall foot-traffic counting services — national retail sales, when compared to the same period last year, will rise 3.7 percent during November and December, while foot traffic will decrease 2.2 percent. The forecast is updated from ShopperTrak’s earlier prediction of a 3 percent sales increase; the foot-traffic forecast remains the same.

“Shoppers took an expected break after Black Friday, but spending will likely rise as the calendar rolls into Christmas,” said ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin. “With shoppers making fewer trips than last year, but spending more, each one is more valuable.”

Retail sales results affect forecast

ShopperTrak adjusted its forecast after it saw a strong lift in retail sales last month; they estimate a 4.1 increase in retail sales in November over 2010. ShopperTrak also expects Super Saturday, the last full shopping day before Christmas which fell on Dec. 17 this year, to be the second highest retail sales day of the season, beat only by Black Friday. According to ShopperTrak, Super Saturday will kick off the highest grossing shopping week of the year this week.

Weather and calendar shifts affect sales

Beyond November’s strong sales numbers, colder weather will positively affect retail sales in the coming weeks, according to ShopperTrak. Warm temperatures across the nation kept seasonal winter merchandise on the shelves early in the holiday season. As temperatures drop, ShopperTrak expects increases in cold weather gear sales.

Hanukkah also shifted dates from Dec. 1 in 2010 to Dec. 20 this year, and ShopperTrak predicts the calendar change will bring out more shoppers as the holiday season winds down. The week before Christmas will also be especially important this year, as five of the holiday season’s top ten sales and foot traffic days will occur between Dec. 18 and Dec. 24. While Black Friday is typically the strongest shopping day of the season, one third of all holiday sales are historically made in the week prior to Christmas.

“While retailers will continue to mark down items to capture shoppers in the next week, they need to monitor their foot-traffic and make adjustments accordingly,” said Martin. “Staffing and stocking appropriately to foot-traffic will make or break retailers’ performance this week.”

ShopperTrak’s 3.7 percent holiday sales increase prediction follows 22 consecutive months of year-over-year U.S. retail sales growth. The expected increase is just below the 2010 holiday season’s 4.1 percent sales increase over 2009.

About ShopperTrak

About the National Retail Sales Estimate (NRSE)

The data contained within this news release is the property of ShopperTrak Corporation and may be reprinted, published or broadcast, provided proper credit is given to the National Retail Sales Estimate (NRSE), the ShopperTrak Retail Traffic Index and ShopperTrak Corporation as the supplier of the information.

For more information on ShopperTrak’s Retail Traffic Indices and the National Retail Sales Estimate of GAFO Retail Sales, please visit ShopperTrak’s Website, www.shoppertrak.com.

###

Media Contacts:

Teresa Krueger

ShopperTrak

(312) 529-5414

Kelly Van Tuinen/Kristin Ellertson

The Reynolds Communications Group

(312) 541-9300 ext. 107 / ext. 101

December Week-Over-Week Retail Sales Growth Likely to Continue

12/14/2011 9:54:43 AM

Week ending Dec. 10 saw 10.6 percent sales increase over previous week, 1.9 percent year-over-year decline

CHICAGO, Ill. – Dec. 13, 2011 – December holiday sales remain flat year-over-year but are showing signs of growth to come. Double-digit increases in week-over-week sales show shoppers are spending this holiday season.

According to ShopperTrak—the world's largest provider of retail and mall foot-traffic counting services—the week ending Dec. 10 saw a 10.6 percent increase in retail sales from the previous week. This bodes well as retailers prepare for the next two weeks of holiday shoppers—historically two of the highest GAFO sales weeks of the year for retailers.

Year-over-year comparisons, however, show retail sales decreased 1.9 percent versus the same week in 2010. The year-over-year loss followed a 0.2 percent year-over-year increase during the week ending Dec. 3, and does not indicate an ongoing trend for the holiday season. According to ShopperTrak, the decline may be weather-related, as warm temperatures across the nation kept seasonal winter merchandise on the shelves. Further, the decrease in retail sales is likely due to Hanukkah shifting dates from Dec. 1 in 2010 to Dec. 20 this year.

ShopperTrak’s holiday forecast, released earlier this year, of a moderate 3 percent year-over-year sales increase throughout the entire Nov. – Dec. holiday season was conservative. Nov. GAFO estimates show sales rose 4.1 percent year-over-year, indicating even greater numbers may be coming in December.

“Last week’s strong week-over-week retail sales increase is an indication of things to come,” said Bill Martin, ShopperTrak founder. “Retailers will see sales increases all the way up to Christmas Day and the end of Hanukkah. As these important days get closer, shoppers will concentrate on completing their holiday shopping and year-over-year losses will be wiped out.”

Weekend sales were up, as both Saturday (Dec. 10) and Sunday (Dec. 11) showed year-over-year gains and consumers spent an estimated $14.76 billion. ShopperTrak expects this weekend’s retail sales to perform even better as it includes “Super Saturday,” the last Saturday with normal store hours before Christmas. Martin also noted that six of the top 10 shopping days of the holiday season are still to come, pointing to Dec. 17, Dec. 18, Dec. 19, Dec. 22, Dec. 23 and Dec. 26.

“There is still a lot of holiday shopping left,” said Martin. “Retailers who accurately monitor daily foot-traffic and make appropriate staffing and inventory adjustments to assist the season’s focused, value-driven buyers will succeed.”

About ShopperTrak

About the National Retail Sales Estimate (NRSE)

The data contained within this news release is the property of ShopperTrak Corporation and may be reprinted, published or broadcast, provided proper credit is given to the National Retail Sales Estimate (NRSE), the ShopperTrak Retail Traffic Index and ShopperTrak Corporation as the supplier of the information.

For more information on ShopperTrak’s Retail Traffic Indices and the National Retail Sales Estimate of GAFO Retail Sales, please visit ShopperTrak’s Website, www.shoppertrak.com.

###

Media Contacts:

Teresa Krueger

ShopperTrak

(312) 529-5414

Kelly Van Tuinen/Kristin Ellertson

The Reynolds Communications Group

(312) 541-9300 ext. 107 / ext. 101

Click here for the "Holiday Half-Time Report" from Bain & Company!

Playing in Traffic: Sales Up, but Traffic Down?

12/14/2011 9:24:18 AM

By Bill Martin, Founder of ShopperTrak

I have had a chance to speak to several retailers over the past few weeks all who have asked about this year's dynamic of traffic down and sales up. There are several influences at play here and I will discuss the ShopperTrak view. The economy is still fragile; jobless rates and gasoline price are still high and have a downward pressure on traffic. While we have seen some improvements in some economic indicators, which should give shoppers the willingness to spend during the holiday season, there are still a lot of consumers forced to the sidelines.

The biggest factor in traffic shrink and improving sales in 2011 has been the Internet. Today, it’s everywhere with instant access to information via computers, tablets and smart phones. According to the Consumer Electronics Association, smart phone sales are expected to grow 45% in 2011. With these devices, consumers can find product descriptions, prices and reviews in an instant. It’s no longer necessary to travel from store to store seeking price, data and stock levels. Simply look it up and head to your targeted location. This trend is resulting in fewer trips to stores and leads to an overall traffic reduction. That being said, the traffic arriving to the stores is primed to buy and therefore needs a new level of customer commitment by retailers. Today, if a consumer leaves your store without converting to a buyer it is a significant failure somewhere in the system. Consumers have chosen to visit through research and with the full intent to buy, therefore retailers should see organic growth in conversion rate if they have the right formula on the floor. Product, selection, assistance and a good experience will fulfill the shopper’s needs and convert to a sale. Repeated success here will lead to loyal shoppers and, more importantly, advocate shoppers who will spread the word through social channels.

---------

Bill Martin is the founder of ShopperTrak. The company’s innovative retail traffic solutions demonstrate a market leadership position in the retail, gaming, hospitality and entertainment industries with the most advanced set of specialized traffic information tools available today.

ShopperTrak Featured Prominently in Bain & Company's "Holiday Half-Time Report"

12/8/2011 9:34:31 AM

NOTE: This article was originally published on Bain & Company's website on 12/4/11.

Despite continued economic malaise, consumers opened their wallets in November. Same-store sales for the month grew at a healthy pace, boosted in part by very strong Black Friday results. Broad discounts, earlier store openings and aggressive advertising drew crowds of customers to stores and online over Thanksgiving weekend. In this issue we take an in-depth look at November sales, Thanksgiving weekend and noteworthy retail innovations. The question remains: Will the spending continue into December?

ShopperTrak Founder Bill Martin Reacts to 2011 Black Friday Results

11/28/2011 4:43:44 PM

ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin announces 2011 Black Friday traffic and sales results, and has a few words to add about the upcoming holiday shopping season.

Click here to see the video!

Foot Traffic Trends

12/7/2011 4:38:41 PM

Choosing where to expand is a common and crucial decision for successful retail businesses. Metrics such as favorable demographics, accessibility, visibility, and proximity to competitive offerings are important considerations when selecting a new site. However, perhaps the most important metric of all – knowing the trend of foot traffic at a candidate site – is frequently overlooked at decision time.

Click here to download your free white paper!

ShopperTrak Reports Year-Over-Year Sales Up 0.2% for Week Ending December 3

12/7/2011 11:54:45 AM

Week-Over-Week Loss of 22.5%

CHICAGO, IL, December 7, 2011 – ShopperTrak reported that the National Retail Sales Estimate™ of GAFO Retail Sales increased 0.2 percent, for the week ending December 3, 2011 compared to the same week in December 2010. On a week over week basis, the National Retail Sales Estimate decreased 22.5 percent compared to the previous week endingNovember 26, 2011.

As expected for the week after Thanksgiving, GAFO Retail Sales estimates declined substantially. This result is consistent with history as holiday shoppers had their initial burst of shopping activity spurred on by retailers’ Black Friday sales promotions. With those “Black” weekend promotions played out, shoppers settle back and shop online for Cyber-Monday deals. Then they assess their holiday shopping lists and budgets. Over the next few weeks they will be heading back to stores in ever increasing numbers to finish their holiday shopping.

The year over year gain in NRSE GAFO Retail Sales for the week was somewhat lower than expected. This result is most like due to the start of Chanukah this year and Cyber-Monday. Last year Chanukah was early, starting on December 2. This year Chanukah starts on December 20. Consequently, much Chanukah gift shopping will be postponed to later in December this year. Additionally, Cyber-Monday was a record online shopping day. Online merchandise sales are not counted in GAFO Retail Sales as they are not made through traditional bricks and mortar stores.

Bill Martin of ShopperTrak stated, ”Our records indicate that Monday through Wednesday for each of the first two weeks after Thanksgiving have the lowest daily shopper traffic for the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Besides having fewer shoppers the merchandise selection is still good. So these two weeks offer the best shopping experience for holiday season shoppers who don’t like crowds.”

For more information on ShopperTrak’s Retail Traffic Indices and the National Retail Sales Estimate of GAFO Retail Sales, please visit the ShopperTrak website, www.shoppertrak.com.

A privately held entity, ShopperTrak leverages 20 years of retail expertise to be the industry's authority for information and analysis of the movement of shoppers in retail environments. ShopperTrak's cutting-edge retail intelligence solutions enable retail companies to benchmark their traffic and revenues at the national, regional and local levels and to better understand retail trends while determining the impact of store and staff performance on company revenues. With more than 50,000 units installed in the world's best known retail outlets and malls, the company's solutions provide a proven means for retailers to gauge labor efficiencies, advertising and marketing efforts, store design and remodeling programs, merchandise changes, associate training programs, and other budget-intensive strategic initiatives. For more information, visit http://www.shoppertrak.com.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The data contained within this news release is the property of ShopperTrak Corporation and may be reprinted, published or broadcast, provided proper credit is given to the National Retail Sales Estimate (NRSE), the ShopperTrak Retail Traffic Index and ShopperTrak Corporation as the supplier of the information. Please contact Teresa Krueger at 312-529-5414 if you have any questions concerning the use of this data.

Executing a Sharp Store Strategy without Sharp Discounts

11/23/2011 3:25:44 PM

By Todd Starcevich, ShopperTrak COO

------------------

NOTE: This article originally appeared on Apparel Magazine's website on 11/16/11.

------------------

It’s likely to be a mixed Christmas for apparel stores.

New data show sales this holiday season will increase, but the number of stores each person visits per outing will decline. Shoppers visited on average 3.1 stores per trip this year, down from four to five before the 2008 recession. The loss of foot traffic is due, in part, to the nation’s economic struggles along with a new age of purpose-driven, research-based shopping.

As any seasoned retailer knows, the market has shifted dramatically during the past 14 years. The Internet provides nearly any good produced, at a reasonable cost, and it’s growing. Smart phones, electronic coupons and group discounts inform and influence shoppers. Consumers browse online, and then visit stores expecting to make purchases that fit their criteria — whether those be time-, value- or quality-based.

More than ever, store managers must know their shopper behavior in order to provide a competitive, positive customer experience — and counting and analyzing foot traffic is the first place to start. Traffic knowledge empowers apparel retailers to make adjustments, especially in staff management, which will capture new sales.

Foot traffic is a simple, but powerful, metric. Frequently, when stores install comprehensive foot-traffic monitoring systems, managers are stunned by two findings: First, more customers enter the store than they thought. Second, fewer make purchases. Only by carefully measuring and monitoring these key indicators of retail health, can stores begin to address them and improve their bottom lines.

Measuring foot traffic regularly reveals store sale lulls that could easily improve. For example, a national apparel retailer noticed a steep drop in its conversion rate. It occurred chain wide, week after week. The cause: a regional store manager phone conference. It was scheduled once a week during the lunch-hour rush. During the call, selling responsibilities were left to junior sales associates. When the store managers joined the conference call and left the floor, the normal conversion rates of 20 percent would drop to single digits.

To all appearances, the floor looked fully staffed and busy during this time. Only by comparing traffic counts to point-of-sale data did store executives realize they missed conversion opportunities during this period.

After tracking the data and analyzing what was happening, the retailer shifted this weekly call to a non-peak period. This allowed managers to assist junior associates during the traffic rush, and brought the conversion rates during that hour of heavy foot traffic back to 20 percent.

Those small changes to the schedule affected all the stores around the country and increased the company’s revenue by millions of dollars. It didn’t attract more customers or slash prices. It simply allowed stores to maintain proper staff levels and convert more browsers into buyers.

Improved conversion rates and identifying peak foot-traffic times (sometimes called “power hours”) aren’t the only reasons retailers should measure foot traffic in their stores. Foot traffic also helps individual store managers make staffing and inventory decisions. With precise data, store managers and district managers don’t have to rely on qualitative, anecdotal evidence. Hard facts can play a bigger role in setting employees’ schedules, truck deliveries and planning non-selling activities. Scheduling these activities correctly keeps the right number of managers and salespeople in the store to handle the customer rushes and ensure customers make it to the cash register.

Also, traffic counting prepares a store to capture business. It ensures the store is fully stocked for peak times and provides worthwhile shopping for customers. If you don’t have the product available when the customer comes in ready to buy, she may leave empty-handed. The customer will consider the store unprepared — in either stocking or staffing — and may not return. When someone leaves the store, it’s likely her dollars go to the competition.

Though counting customers in some way — manual counts or surveys — has been around for years, today counting foot traffic is an exact science. The current methods are accurate, unobtrusive, easily connected systems of tens of thousands of other sensors — creating a daily quality control system the old standbys can’t replicate. This kind of insurance and automation gives apparel merchants an accurate picture of their businesses’ overall health and important insight for capturing shopper opportunity. They allow merchants to capture business with a traditional tactic — a positive customer experience.

Using good foot traffic analysis, stores can be fully-stocked during peak times and provide enough staff to minimize line abandonment, ensuring that the well-prepared and independent customer can find what he or she is looking for. Preparation and good foot-traffic analytics are the keys to thriving at a time when consumers are armed with information and seek convenience.

Todd Starcevich joined ShopperTrak, the world’s largest retail traffic counter, in 2006. He is charged with developing the implementation program for large scale traffic counting projects and key pilot opportunities with new clients. As Chief Client Operations Officer, Mr. Starcevich oversees all day-to-day management of product installation; overall support services; data review and analysis; and product assembly, shipping and receiving to support the overall growth of the company. Additionally, he is responsible for developing medium and long term support strategy for new ShopperTrak services, as well as unique client arrangements; identifying areas for process and procedural improvement. http://www.shoppertrak.com

# # #

Black Friday Weekend Retail Sales Increase 1.9 Percent, Foot-Traffic Down 1.8 Percent Year-Over-Year

12/1/2011 5:01:52 PM

—Retailers succeed in driving more traffic earlier than Black Friday Weekend—

CHICAGO, Ill. — Dec. 1, 2011 – Black Friday weekend is shifting to encompass days prior to the big shopping event, with stores seeing more foot-traffic beforehand.

According to ShopperTrak — the world’s largest provider of retail and mall foot-traffic counting services — more customers shopped the Sunday before Thanksgiving than the days following Black Friday. Both Black Saturday and Black Sunday showed year-over-year losses in retail sales and foot-traffic, which caused the entire Black Friday weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) to realize a 1.9 percent sales increase and 1.8 percent decline in foot-traffic when compared to the same period last year. The week leading up to Black Friday (ending Nov. 26), however, saw a 4.4 percent increase in sales, when compared to the same week in 2010. Black Sunday (Nov. 27) also saw a 1.7 percent decrease in enclosed mall foot-traffic, compared to the previous Sunday (Nov. 20).

“Retailers offered door-busters and other pre-holiday specials earlier in the Thanksgiving week to ensure they had the best opportunity to capture value-conscious shoppers,” said ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin. “Our customers have access to real-time traffic information, and they succeeded in taking share earlier than they had in past years. As we’ve noted over the past few months, retailers who focus on converting shoppers into buyers with effective marketing, adequate staffing and a positive customer experience will be the most successful when the season ends.”

Day-by-day results

Black Friday sales increased 6.6 percent over the same day last year, representing $11.40 billion in retail purchases and the biggest dollar amount ever spent during the day. Retail foot-traffic rose by 5.1 percent over Black Friday 2010. Both sales and foot-traffic, however, declined as the weekend continued. Compared to the same day in 2010, Black Saturday sales dropped 4 percent, and people counts declined 9.6 percent. Sales were slightly better on Black Sunday, dropping only 2 percent year-over-year, while foot-traffic dropped 8.7 percent over Black Sunday 2010.

“Black Friday is only one day in a 60-day holiday season cycle,” added Martin. “After a record-breaking day, consumers experienced some natural fatigue. We believe retail sales and store foot-traffic will regain the momentum generated on Black Friday as we head into the prime time for holiday season shopping.”

ShopperTrak predicts five of the biggest shopping days of the season will occur in the week leading up to Christmas weekend: Dec. 17 (Super Saturday), Dec. 18, Dec. 19, Dec. 22 and Dec. 23. ShopperTrak also forecasts Dec. 3, Dec. 10 and Dec. 26 as high sales days. Taken together, eight of the top 10 sales days of the year are yet to come.

Weekend performance across the country

When viewed by census regions, the West outperformed the rest of the nation with more foot-traffic and sales than any other region. The South also ranked high in sales, but, unlike the West, fewer Southern shoppers spent more per trip; the region ranked last in foot-traffic on some days.

The Midwest and Northeast alternately ranked third and fourth in foot traffic and sales throughout the weekend.

“There is still a lot of time left in the holiday shopping season,” said Martin. “The most successful retailers will pay attention to foot-traffic patterns and make appropriate adjustments to convert shoppers into buyers.”

ShopperTrak measures foot-traffic in more than 25,000 stores in the United States and analyzes this data in a proprietary econometric model to create its National Retail Sales Estimate™ (NRSE) of general merchandise, apparel and accessories, furniture and other sales (GAFO).

About ShopperTrak

###

Media Contacts:

Teresa Krueger

ShopperTrak

(312) 529-5414

Kelly Van Tuinen/Kristin Ellertson

The Reynolds Communications Group

(312) 541-9300 ext 107 / ext 101

mreynolds@reynoldsgroup.com

Black Friday 2011 Sets New Retail Sales Record

11/26/2011 3:13:06 PM

—Holiday shopping season kicks off with strong Black Friday; retail sales and foot-traffic increase over last year —

CHICAGO, Ill. — Nov. 26, 2011 – Retailers can breathe a sigh of relief. The holiday shopping season started strong, with bigger crowds spending more dollars than ever before.

According to ShopperTrak — the world’s largest provider of retail and mall foot-traffic counting services —Black Friday sales increased 6.6 percent over the same day last year. This represents $11.40 billion in retail purchases and the biggest dollar amount ever spent during the day. Retail foot-traffic rose accordingly, increasing by 5.1 percent over Black Friday 2010.

“Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year and the traditional start to the holiday shopping season,” said ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin “Despite our sluggish economy, shoppers proved they are looking for value and ready to buy if given a good customer experience."

“This is the largest year-over-year gain in ShopperTrak’s National Retail Sales Estimate for Black Friday since the 8.3 percent increase we saw between 2007 and 2006. Still, it’s just one day. It remains to be seen whether consumers will sustain this behavior through the holiday shopping season. ”

Consumers Still ‘Value-Conscious’

Black Friday’s strong showing came on the heels of a very good November for retailers. Sales were up 3.6 percent during the week of Nov. 12. They also were up 3.8 percent during the week of Nov. 19, the week before Black Friday. Record numbers of pre-promotions and extended shopping hours in the weeks leading up to Black Friday account for some of these increases.

“Retailers continue to stretch out Black Friday weekend by enticing shoppers with door-buster deals weeks in advance,” said Martin, “and yesterday consumers were especially bullish. Granted, the economy is still sputtering, but slight increases in the employment rate mean fewer workers fear layoffs. While consumers are still extremely value-conscious, they clearly responded to retailer price reductions and ‘door-buster’ promotions.”

According to ShopperTrak, today’s customers visit fewer stores per shopping trip, with an average 3.1 this holiday season — down from 3.19 last year — but are also more likely to buy when they enter the store. Holiday shoppers look for sales and research purchases online beforehand. Given a strong Black Friday, however, and the possibility of a drop-off in the coming weeks, retailers will need to work extra hard to convert knowledgeable browsers into buyers, Martin said.

Black Friday’s historical performance

According to ShopperTrak, retailers rely on the sales between Thanksgiving and Christmas to make up 20 percent of their annual take. Last year, Black Friday showed an increase in both sales and foot traffic over 2009; foot traffic increased 2.2 percent and sales increased 0.3 percent. The increase represents $10.69 billion in consumer spending and the largest dollar amount ever spent on the day—until this year. Black Friday 2011 outpaced last year’s record and will likely be the top performing sales- and foot-traffic day for the seventh year in a row.

About ShopperTrak

###

Media Contacts:

Mack Reynolds / Kristin Ellertson

The Reynolds Communications Group

CELL: (847) 274-3465 / (847) 338-4260

Click here for your free download of the Holiday Season 2011 Planning and Staffing Guide!

ShopperTrak Reports Year-Over-Year Sales Up 3.8% for Week Ending November 19

11/22/2011 3:18:08 AM

Week-Over-Week Loss of 3.4%

CHICAGO, IL, November 22, 2011 – ShopperTrak reported that the National Retail Sales EstimateTM of GAFO Retail Sales increased 3.8 percent, for the week ending November 19, 2011 compared to the same week in November 2010. On a week over week basis, the National Retail Sales Estimate decreased 3.4 percent compared to the previous week ending November 12, 2011.

As expected for the week after Veteran’s Day, GAFO Retail Sales estimates declined for the week. This result is consistent with history as the week between Veteran’s Day and Black Friday week usually records a week-over-week loss. However, retail chains tried to lure shoppers with pre-Black Friday sales promotions, but many consumers decided to be patient and wait for the real Black Friday to shop.

This week shoppers’ patience will pay off as retail chains will reveal their Black Friday door buster sales items. Virtually all retail chains will open early on Black Friday, with some big box stores opening on Thanksgiving Day evening. Other chains will open atmidnight while the bulk of retail chains will open between 4:00 AM and 6:00 AM local time.

Bill Martin of ShopperTrak stated, ”We expect Black Friday to be the largest single shopping day of the year for both GAFO Retail Sales and shopper traffic. However, since several large chains are opening on Thanksgiving, the results for Black Friday could be diminished a bit as sales and traffic generated on Thanksgiving will be recorded as occurring on Thanksgiving and not on Black Friday.”

For more information on ShopperTrak’s Retail Traffic Indices and the National Retail Sales Estimate of GAFO Retail Sales, please visit the ShopperTrak website, www.shoppertrak.com.

A privately held entity, ShopperTrak leverages 20 years of retail expertise to be the industry's authority for information and analysis of the movement of shoppers in retail environments. ShopperTrak's cutting-edge retail intelligence solutions enable retail companies to benchmark their traffic and revenues at the national, regional and local levels and to better understand retail trends while determining the impact of store and staff performance on company revenues. With more than 50,000 units installed in the world's best known retail outlets and malls, the company's solutions provide a proven means for retailers to gauge labor efficiencies, advertising and marketing efforts, store design and remodeling programs, merchandise changes, associate training programs,and other budget-intensive strategic initiatives. For more information, visit http://www.shoppertrak.com.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The data contained within this news release is the property of ShopperTrak Corporation and may be reprinted, published or broadcast, provided proper credit is given to the National Retail Sales Estimate (NRSE), the ShopperTrak Retail Traffic Index and ShopperTrak Corporation as the supplier of the information. Please contact Teresa Krueger at 312-529-5414 if you have any questions concerning the use of this data.

Holiday Season 2011: Planning and Staffing Guide

11/22/2011 10:13:34 PM

ShopperTrak provides guidance for retailers in planning and staffing for the day after Christmas (December 26) and Christmas Eve (December 24), 2011. Since the days of the week in which these busy shopping days fall continually shift from one holiday season to the next, planning and staffing for these key days can be difficult. Our purpose is to provide a framework for proper planning and staffing for these dates in 2011.

ShopperTrak Reports Year-Over-Year Sales Up 3.6% for Week Ending November 12

11/15/2011 5:48:17 AM

Week-Over-Week Gain of 6.5%

CHICAGO, IL, November 15, 2011 – ShopperTrak reported that the National Retail Sales Estimate™ of GAFO Retail Sales increased 3.6 percent, for the week ending November 12, 2011 compared to the same week in November 2010. On a week over week basis, the National Retail Sales Estimate gained 6.5 percent compared to the previous week ending November 5, 2011.

GAFO Retail Sales estimates had a rather strong gain for the second week in a row as retail shoppers took advantage of continued “early Holiday Season” promotions and Veteran’s Day Sales. GAFO Retail Sales were especially strong last Friday, Veteran’s Day, as many governmental workers and workers in the financial services industry had the day as a holiday.

As we stated previously, we expect that GAFO Retail Sales estimates for this week will be down from last week’s results as this week is a transitional week in the month. Veteran’s Day is over and the next big promotional event will be Black Friday.

Bill Martin of ShopperTrak says, ”While retailers will try to entice shoppers into their stores this week, many consumers will be ‘on the sidelines’ waiting for the Black Friday door buster bargains that will be promoted next week.”

For more information on ShopperTrak’s Retail Traffic Indices and the National Retail Sales Estimate of GAFO Retail Sales, please visit the ShopperTrak website, www.shoppertrak.com.

ShopperTrak Reports Year-Over-Year Sales Up 3.7% for Week Ending November 5

11/10/2011 5:43:57 AM

Week-Over-Week Gain of 8.5%

CHICAGO, IL, November 10, 2011 – ShopperTrak reported that the National Retail Sales Estimate™ of GAFO Retail Sales increased 3.7 percent, for the week ending November 5, 2011 compared to the same week in November 2010. On a week over week basis, the National Retail Sales Estimate increased 8.5 percent compared to the previous week ending October 29, 2011.

GAFO Retail Sales estimates jumped for the week as consumers responded to the many pre-Holiday Season sales and “early” Black Friday sales that retailers promoted toward the end of the week. GAFO Retail Sales estimates were especially strong for Friday and Saturday. These positive GAFO Retail Sales estimates continue the string of annual weekly gains that started the week after Easter week.

November kicks off the Holiday Season which ShopperTrak defines as the months of November and December. There are three distinct periods in Holiday Season shopping: the period prior to Thanksgiving that includes Veteran’s Day and all of the pre-Holiday and pre-Black Friday promotions; the period of Black Friday through Christmas Eve which contains the bulk of Holiday shopping; and the week after Christmas which is marked by bargain hunting for marked down Christmas merchandise, returning unwanted gifts and redeeming gift cards.

Bill Martin of ShopperTrak says, ”We expect GAFO Retail Sale to climb this week as retailers promote Veteran’s Day sales. Then next week GAFO Retail Sales should decline a bit the week before Thanksgiving. This will set the stage for the largest shopping day of the year, Black Friday, November 25^TH.

For more information on ShopperTrak’s Retail Traffic Indices and the National Retail Sales Estimate of GAFO Retail Sales, please visit the ShopperTrak website, www.shoppertrak.com.

ShopperTrak Identifies Top 10 Best Days to Shop This Holiday Season

11/14/2011 11:39:39 PM

—Weekdays provide best chances to skip the crowds and find deals—

CHICAGO, Ill. — Nov. 14, 2011 — When it comes to holiday shopping this year — good things will come to those who wait — as long as they don’t wait too long. That’s because the days with the fewest shoppers and deepest discounts will occur after the Thanksgiving holiday and its famous “Black Friday.”

According to ShopperTrak — the world’s largest provider of retail and mall foot-traffic counting services — 10 days this holiday season will have decreased foot-traffic and, as a result, better customer experiences.

“Most people shop on two of the season’s famous days — Black Friday and Super Saturday — because they’re convenient and offer potentially good deals,” said Bill Martin, ShopperTrak co-founder. “ShopperTrak counts and analyzes billions of shopper visits at 40,000 locations globally. Based on real-time analytics, we can predict even better days to shop, when consumers’ time and dollars will go further.”

Weekdays after Major Holidays

According to ShopperTrak, the weekdays following Black Friday and Black Saturday (Nov. 29 – Dec.1) are the season’s best days to hit stores. Black Friday (Nov. 25) is historically the holiday season’s top performing sales and foot-traffic day; more than 200 million shoppers crowded stores last year, spending $10.69 billion. On the following day, Black Saturday, $6.06 billion found its way to retailers’ cash registers to close out the door-buster weekend.

This year, however, the weekdays following Black Friday and Black Saturday, will have fewer crowds than any other time during the holiday season as many tired shoppers shy away from stores. That means fewer crowds and good deals for shoppers who wait it out. Many Black Friday sales will still be in effect after the weekend, and retailers, eager to unload remaining merchandise, may further reduce prices to entice the fewer numbers of shoppers to take it home.

Shop in early December

As last minute-shoppers scramble to pick up gifts, the weeks leading up to Christmas mean longer lines, crowded parking lots and more headaches. Weekdays in early December, however, will be some of the best days to beat the crowds, according to ShopperTrak.While every store’s foot-traffic patterns differ, weekday business hours, even during the holidays, are typically less trafficked. Most shoppers venture out just after Thanksgiving or in the days leading up to Christmas, making the time in between a shopper’s haven. Stores will have smaller crowds and more sales as they work to get customers in the door during off-peak holiday shopping periods.

Though these days are great for shoppers, they also offer important opportunities for retailers.

“Retailers should be prepared to make the most of shopper opportunity, even on the season’s slowest foot-traffic days, and adjust factors like staffing and inventory accordingly,” added Martin. “Based on our real-time analytics and historical data, ShopperTrak is in a unique position to help retailers understand their customers better and capture sales this holiday season.”

The following table shows ShopperTrak’s forecasted best days to shop, ranked from least busy to busiest:

About ShopperTrak

Chicago based ShopperTrak is a technology company whose products and services anonymously count people, analyze the data and reveal opportunities to create financial efficiencies in operations and marketing. Global retailers and mall owners have relied on our service to provide critical, daily store performance data. We offer our counting solution as a Managed Service, leaving the client to focus on their core business. Our Managed Services are further enhanced with our Business Analytics offering, an exclusive data set projecting the number of available shoppers in a defined market. With over 40,000 managed devices in service, collecting billions of shopper visits yearly, we are the global leader in people counting and store performance analysis.ShopperTrak is a privately held entity headquartered in Chicago with operations in Europe, Middle East and Asia. For more information, visit www.shoppertrak.com.

Media Contacts

Teresa Krueger Kelly Van Tuinen/Kristin Ellertson

ShopperTrak The Reynolds Communications Group

(312) 529-5414 (312) 541-9300 ext 107; ext. 101

tkrueger@shoppertrak.com kvantuinen@reynoldsgroup.com

kellertson@reynoldsgroup.com

###

Playing in Traffic: An Introduction

11/14/2011 10:18:10 PM

By Bill Martin, Founder of ShopperTrak

Today, we are announcing a new blog post called Playing in Traffic. After many years of intense involvement with hundreds of clients, there are many stories of success and failure that I would like to share. These, along with the latest traffic topics of the day, will become an open forum to discuss consumer behavior, traffic trends and general information around the latest in traffic management.

It is well known that ShopperTrak has been the prominent developer of many of the traffic management concepts used today. Back in the 90s, we introduced the concept of Conversion Rate, Power Hours™ and Shopper-to-Associate Ratio at a Pier 1 store in Toms River, New Jersey. We were the first to use overhead devices that allowed us to see traffic entering and leaving which opened an entirely new thought process for counting traffic as a business enhancement tool. Having progressed to video and having led the technology race to exploit its capabilities, we now support over 250 clients in over 70 countries around the world with an end-to-end traffic management solution and we are considered the undisputed leader in this industry.

I invite you to share your stories, questions and concerns by sending an inquiry through our “Contact Us” page. I will engage a host of subject matter experts to assist in researching every question that comes our way. In doing this, we will hopefully be able to develop a community that will bring insight, knowledge and behaviors that will help retailers enhance the experience they wish to deliver to their customers.

Please stop by our booth #2327 at the 2012 NRF show to say, “Hello!” We have an exciting display and will be showing off some of the newest ideas in retail traffic management.

Bill Martin

Founder, ShopperTrak

Getting Buy-In: How a Field Communication Strategy Builds Traffic Management ROI

11/11/2011 2:00:00 PM

Implementing a traffic management program involves more than simply installing equipment, linking to a network and reaping the rewards of intelligent business metrics. A well-planned and well-executed field communication strategy can help field personnel understand the program, its objectives, and how this new business intelligence can: increase labor efficiency, improve conversion rates and deliver bottom line success to the company and its local operations. Overcoming hurdles in the field is essential to garnering optimal ROI from a traffic management system, and a clearly articulated communication plan helps align an organization’s efforts, from headquarters to the selling floor.

Click here for your free download!

Critical Marketing Effectiveness Measurements

11/3/2011 1:53:38 AM

On Thursday, November 3rd, ShopperTrak's Chief Sales Officer, Kevin Kearns, gave a brief webinar about understanding the best practices that top retailers use to guide their critical marketing decisions.

In this webinar, Kevin discusses the best practices of utilizing traffic-related metrics to address questions like:

How do I prioritize marketing investments to maximize ROI?
Do I have the right marketing media mix?
Which marketing initiatives are paying off and how do I quantify the results?

In-Store Foot Traffic Analytics for Grocery, Supermarket, and Convenience Stores

10/27/2011 1:51:47 AM

On Thursday, October 27th, Brian Simpson, ShopperTrak's Director of Channel Development, led a brief webinar discussing how supermarkets, grocery stores, and convenience stores can use foot traffic analytics to improve store performance and uncover new consumer insights.

In this brief webinar, Brian covered:
- Foot traffic analytics as a managed service
- Optimizing checkout lane staffing based on forecasted customer foot traffic
- Identifying store aisles and end-caps with the highest foot traffic
- Reducing energy costs through linking foot traffic analytics to HVAC systems

Europe: In-Store Traffic Collection & Management Basics

10/11/2011 1:48:55 AM

On Tuesday, October 11thResearch Director, Oliver Boucke, gave a brief webinar that explained why leading retail brands rely on store traffic data to evaluate store effectiveness, inform staffing decisions, compare store-to-store performance and most importantly, measure shopper conversion.

In this webinar, Oliver discusses:
- Why Shopper Conversion Rates are Important
- Store Traffic as a Managed Service
- Store-to-Store Comparisons

Back-to-School Recap with ShopperTrak Business Analytics

9/12/2011 1:46:23 AM

The Traffic Report, a proprietary offering from ShopperTrak, is a daily estimate of the number of shoppers available nationally, regionally and in major metropolitan areas.

Presenter Shana Lussenhop, ShopperTrak Business Analytics expert, uses proprietary ShopperTrak data to analyze shopper foot traffic trends throughout the U.S. Retail Industry.

Topics discussed include:

- How was U.S. consumer foot traffic during Back-to-School compared to last year?
- Were shopper trends similar from city to city?
- Foot traffic trends from a national, regional, and metro area level

Introducing New Business Analytics from ShopperTrak

8/4/2011 12:02:25 AM

On Thursday, August 4th, Shana Lussenhop, ShopperTrak Business Analytics expert, gave a webinar presentation that explained the features and benefits of a new ShopperTrak-exclusive report!

Topics discussed include:
- What is ShopperTrak Business Analytics?
- Who should use it?
- How can it help my business?

In-Store Traffic Collection & Management Basics

6/29/2011 11:58:24 PM

Chief Marketing Officer Ed Marcheselli gave a webinar presentation on Wednesday June 29th that explains why leading retail brands rely on traffic data to measure health, inform staffing decisions, compare store-to-store performance and most importantly, shopper conversion.

In this webinar, Ed discusses:
- Converting Shoppers at the Same Rate as the Market
- Why Conversion Rates are Important
- Traffic as a Managed Service
- Local, Regional, National Traffic Benchmarking
- Store-to-Store Comparisons