ShopperTrak’s revised predictions expect fewer holiday shoppers in stores |
Written by Jeremy Burns |
Friday, 22 November 2013 05:41 PM America/New_York |
Retail analytics provider ShopperTrak has expanded its holiday forecasting data set and has revised its holiday predictions, supplanting some of the findings in its initial report. ShopperTrak’s updated forecasts are based on traffic information from every U.S. retail outlet the company monitors and will reflect information gathered from more categories of stores, including home furnishings, sporting goods, office supply, gift, dollar and mass merchandise retail locations. “We refined our models and methodologies to accommodate customer requests to be included in the index,” said ShopperTrak Chief Product Officer Chetan Ghai. “By expanding the universe of data included and evolving to a census model, clients will have a broader and more familiar comparison basis while retaining the ability to drill down to our traditional sectors.” ShopperTrak now forecasts that 10% fewer shoppers will visit brick-and-mortar stores in November and December than in those same months in 2012. This is more than the 1.4% decline in shopper traffic the company projected in September, when it used its smaller sample size. However, bright spots endure in the updated forecast. The company expects retail traffic to rise 5% in the apparel and accessories category compared to 2012, and ShopperTrak’s sales forecast remains unchanged—the company predicts GAFO (general merchandise, apparel and accessories, furniture and other) retail sales will increase 2.4% in the months of November and December compared to last year. |