ShopperTrak Reports Inaugural “Fashion’s Night Out” Drives Apparel & Accessories Store Traffic

Segmented Store Traffic for the First Night of Fashion Week Increases 3.4 Percent Nationally; Nearly 50 Percent in Manhattan

CHICAGO - September 11, 2009

ShopperTrak RCT Corporation’s Retail Traffic Index (SRTI) today reported that the first night of Fashion Week (September 10) – recently dubbed Fashion’s Night Out by New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg – provided a 3.4 percent nationwide store traffic increase in the Apparel and Accessories retail segment, with nearly a 50 percent rise in Manhattan where the event originated.

Breaking down the numbers, ShopperTrak also determined the following in the Apparel and Accessories retail segment:

• Previous to the event, Manhattan segmented traffic during the four Thursday’s leading up to September 10 averaged a decline of 10.5 percent as compared to last year.
• The Manhattan store traffic increase on September 10 versus the same day in 2008 was 36 percent. Therefore, the net traffic gain in the borough was nearly 50 percent.
• The Northeast region experienced the highest gain, with an 11.7 percent increase as compared to September 10, 2008.
• The South region was second with nighttime shopping boosting year-over-year traffic 5.0 percent.

“Our traffic data proves Fashion’s Night Out was a very successful event for those retailers in the Apparel and Accessories segment,” said Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak. “The overwhelming turnout in Manhattan lifted sales throughout the country providing some welcomed good news for participating retailers in an otherwise difficult 2009.”

Fashion’s Night Out is a citywide event held during the first night of Fashion Week to support local New York retailers. Participating retail stores across the five boroughs stayed open until 11 p.m. and offered an array of in-store celebrations and promotions. Nearly 100 retailers participated in the event – sponsored by Vogue Magazine, among others – as part of the Bloomberg Administration’s Five Borough Economic Opportunity Plan to create jobs for New Yorkers, implement a vision for long-term economic growth, and build affordable, attractive neighborhoods.

The ShopperTrak Retail Traffic Index™ measures traffic across five separate retail segments including total U.S. retailing. Available as a database or in newsletter format, SRTI reports national and regional traffic trends in a rolling 16 month trend line.

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 shopper tracking products and indices offer retail intelligence solutions that enable companies to better understand retail trends and 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 also 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 RCT 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 RCT Corporation as the supplier of the information. Please contact Aaron Martin at 312-943-9100 if you have any questions concerning the use of this data.