Christmas trade hits record level at St David's

14th January 2011

More shoppers visited St David’s in Cardiff than ever before this Christmas. The month of December was a record trading month for the Welsh shopping destination with 5.5 million visitors – 10% higher than December 2009 - and included St David’s busiest ever day.

Footfall figures at St David’s recorded more than a million visits for five consecutive weeks with shoppers spending an average of £2m a day throughout December which is an increase of nearly 20% on 2009 figures.

Steven Madeley, Centre Director of St David’s, said: “Christmas is the busiest time of year for any retailer and it is the most important time for them to be trading well as it will set them in good stead for the rest of the year. We had high hopes for Christmas at St David’s and are delighted that the figures show it was a record breaking year with each week topping a million visitors spending £2m a day. December 22 was a particularly noteworthy date on the calendar this Christmas as it was our busiest ever day of trading at St David’s with over a quarter of a million shoppers visiting on this day alone. There was some trepidation about the weather the week before Christmas and while visitor levels were slightly down during the weekend, it did not deter consumers from coming in to get their Christmas shopping done.

“After Christmas, the shops were even busier with footfall in post-Christmas week exceeding that of the previous week. It has been a challenging year for many but the sentiment of Christmas means that consumers are prepared to spend. Prior to Christmas, this included buying gifts for family and friends as well as food and post-Christmas, consumers were still in the festive spirit and, incentivised by the sales, were buying for themselves.

“There has so far been a lot of spotlight on the VAT rise but this has not had a significant impact on trading. St David’s is no quieter than normal at this time of year. Many stores are happy to advertise that they have not implemented the VAT rise and will absorb the difference until the sale period ends. When it does come into effect, the difference made to the average purchase within St David’s will only be a matter of pence and the feedback we have had so far suggests that this will not deter consumers.”

Late night shopping has continued to grow in success since it was introduced by St David’s. The new stores at St David’s remain open until 8pm on weeknights and in the week before Christmas, this was extended until 10pm.

Mr Madeley said: “When you introduce late night shopping to a city, you are introducing a new consumer culture which takes time to bed in. In the last year, there has been a significant increase in the number of consumers visiting St David’s in the evenings either to shop and then dine in our restaurant quarter Eastside or to shop and then spend the evening in the city whether it be attending the cinema or watching a show. The parking rate of just £1 for the whole evening after 5pm has been well used which is exactly why it was introduced. Christmas in particular is a time that late night shopping comes into its own and in December around a quarter of our shoppers were visiting St David’s between the hours of 5pm and 8pm.”

There are now more than 150 stores trading within St David’s with more than 70 stores opening in 2010 alone. Major new store openings in the last year include global brands Hollister, Springfield, Nike and the flagship Monsoon shop. A number of retailers also opened in the run up to Christmas from jewellers and accessory stores Bijou Brigitte and Pia Jewellery, Swedish homeware retailer Clas Ohlson, LEGO, quirky fashion store David & Goliath, global fragrance boutique Jo Malone, underwear store La Senza and childrenswear store Pumpkin Patch. Other retailers such as Carluccio’s, LUSH, Calendar Club and HMV were attracted to open pop-up stores for the Christmas period to take advantage of the high footfall within St David’s.

New retailers who are on site preparing to open stores in 2011 at the 1.4m sq ft St David’s include the flagship GAP store, Calvin Klein Underwear and Shakeaway with several others in negotiations still to be announced throughout 2011. 

Mr Madeley continued: “It is not only the number of stores that has increased at St David’s but the diversity as well. We have a particularly strong fashion line up of high street stores and designer brands but we aim to cater for all our shoppers needs which is why we have brought a mix of retailers from childrenswear to homeware. This year, our focus will be to continue to bring new and exciting names to the city but also to attract specialist stores to increase our breadth of offering. Looking ahead, 2011 will be another challenging year yet a productive one; we are confident that St David’s will continue to outperform the market.”

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