Shrewsbury sales figures outperforming national average

Sales in Shrewsbury have increased by 9% compared to last year, significantly higher than the UK town and city centre average – with the market hall reporting one of the busiest summers it has ever had.

Footfall in the Darwin Shopping Centre and Shrewsbury Market Hall have been higher this summer compared to last year, and statistics compiled for Shrewsbury BID show the overall town centre is performing well.

Seb Slater, executive director of Shrewsbury BID, said: “We monitor town centre performance data on a monthly basis, working with highly-respected data analysts, Beauclair and Springboard, to track customer spend, footfall and other metrics. 

“It’s very encouraging to note that sales in July increased by 9% year on year, compared to the national average of 2%, with hospitality, fashion and entertainment performing particularly well. We’ll receive August sales figures next week but from feedback received we are optimistic they will continue to show a positive trend. 

“We are aware of recent stories in the local press quoting town council figures which suggested footfall had decreased significantly this summer, but these figures show that Shrewsbury is performing strongly compared to national benchmarks and should be a source of confidence for businesses.

“Our Springboard cameras, which count physical people on the street on Pride Hill and High Street, have shown a decrease of 5.8% on last year over July and August, which is actually above the benchmark for West Midlands and a little below the UK benchmark for town centres.”

Shrewsbury Market Hall has reported a bumper summer of trading - with traders saying it has probably been the best the market has ever had.

Darren Tomkins, Shrewsbury BID board member and owner of Gindifferent in the market hall, said: "In August the footfall counters recorded more than 67,000 visitors to the market hall. We've never seen numbers like this before, at this time of year - it really has been a great couple of months.  

“In the past we’ve traditionally seen footfall drop off a bit during the school holidays, but this summer it has been incredibly busy." 

Kevin Lockwood, manager of the Darwin Shopping Centre, said traders were feeling positive following a busy summer. 

He said: “Footfall has been good over the summer months, with a clear increase on last year, and tenants have reported strong sales figures. 

“We are increasingly aware that footfall figures do not tell the whole story as to whether trading conditions are good or bad, as so many other aspects of the economy affect businesses in different ways. 

“That being said, the mood amongst businesses in the shopping centre is upbeat and we hope the rest of the year will continue the positivity.”