Footfall in European malls rose 1% on a like-for-like basis in 2013, with outlet malls outperforming traditional shopping centres, according to new research from ICSC.
Footfall in European malls rose 1% on a like-for-like basis in 2013, with outlet malls outperforming traditional shopping centres, according to new research from ICSC.
The survey, which included 336 shopping centres from eight participating shopping centre portfolios representing over 13.2 million m2 of retail across Europe, recorded an overall rise in footfall of 2.1% year-on-year in 2013.
During the opening of ICSC Europe's annual conference in Istanbul on Wednesday, ICSC researchers revealed that large factory outlets and retail parks saw the biggest rise in footfall, with an increase of 6%. Traditional shopping centres recorded an improvement of just 0.9%.
Geographically, southern and northern Europe saw the biggest rise, gaining 8.6% and 2.2% respectively. Western and Eastern Europe each registered increases of less than 0.6%.
Southern Europe, which includes Turkey and Spain, performed particularly well with like-for-like footfall rising by over 8% from 2012 to 2013. Northern Europe (Norway, Sweden and Denmark), were also good performers, up over 2% in like-for-like footfall. Western and Eastern Europe fared less well, delivering largely static performances, but crucially, footfall has not dropped, despite some concerns across the bricks and mortar retail community.
The resurgence in footfall is being led by specialised centres, including factory outlets and retail parks, as shoppers seek value for money.
Chair of the ICSC's European Advisory Board Alexander Otto who is also CEO of ECE Projektmanagement which participated in the survey, added: 'The findings of this survey fit with our own research at ECE and it is good to see that despite all the gloomy predictions of falling footfall, the industry is more than rising to the challenge of making our shopping centres relevant and attractive to today's shoppers.'
