There was positive news for retail in recent days with the Co-op announcing the creation of 1000 new jobs and 50 new stores*. Yet research from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) revealed that footfall was down by about a third across the UK in August compared to 2019, with London leading the way with the largest drop in footfall at 45.3%**.

What are regular shoppers thinking about the retail experience?

Startle’s research into the retail experience reveals that 47.5% of people who will continue to shop as frequently as before lockdown think music would make atmosphere better, a statistic that is consistent across July (46.9%) and August (47.9%) (see Graph 1).

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57.7% of those who think music would improve the atmosphere are female (see graph 2). Furthermore, two thirds (66.1%) of those think music would make the experience better were regular pre-lockdown shoppers.

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Thoughts from our CEO, Adam Castleton:

"During these times it's especially important that we celebrate news about job creation and store openings. We should also applaud retailers that are taking risks and adapting to accelerated trends by investing in new store formats and great physical/digital customer experiences. It's these great customer experiences that will help drive footfall ahead of the all important Christmas period, which is just around the corner!"

Surveys carried out July and August 2020. Sample sizes (n) >1000 people, UK Nat. Rep. with 95% confidence level & margin of error of +/- 5%.

*The Guardian article: Co-ops creates 1000 new jobs and opens 50 new stores in UK. 4th September 2020.
**The Guardian article: Government must do more to get public back into shops, say retailers. 4th September 2020.