Manchester shoppers beat the heat
THE sizzling summer weather has cast a cloud over shopping centres who say soaring temperatures have been keeping customers away - but not in Manchester.
The number of shoppers in stores country-wide dropped by five per cent last week compared with the same period last year.
And last Wednesday, the hottest day for nearly a century, saw a whacking drop in retail customers of 7.3 per cent on last year.
Market analyst FootFall, which monitors 200 shopping centres across the country, says even the summer sales have failed to lure in the crowds - but here in Manchester shoppers are bucking the trend.
At the Arndale Centre footfall - the number of people through the doors - has risen by 4.7 per cent over the same period last year. The on-going hot spell has also meant bumper business for coffee shops across the city - not least from customers opting for iced drinks to cool down.
Heatwave
A spokesman for Starbucks in the city said: "During the heatwave, we have seen more and more customers choosing to enjoy our ice blended Frappuccinos with iced African coffees and iced vanilla lattes also proving very popular."
At Manchester Arndale a spokesman said: "Whatever the weather, city centre Manchester has sufficient attractions to bring people in. And however hot it may be, people are still going to be tempted by a first class shopping centre - not to mention the relief of cooler temperatures inside."
Gordon Reid, chief executive of the city centre management company said: "There was a marginal decline in footfall in the centre as a whole, but the good news is that there has been a significant rise in spending in the city centre over the past four months.
"People naturally make a correlation between footfall and spending, but it isn't necessarily the case. And Manchester has attractions that will bring people into the city centre regardless of what the weather is doing."
It has been a similar situation at the Trafford Centre recently with shoppers rushing back .
Quieter
Director of operations, Gordon McKinnon, said: "It has certainly been quieter over the last month while the weather has been so hot.
"Clearly people have had many other things to do to take advantage of the weather, rather than come shopping.
"Having said that, our malls have provided some respite from the heat, with temperatures significantly below those outside.
"We are now seeing the effects of the summer sales, and customers are hitting the shops with a vengeance.
"We are doing a number of things for customers over the school holidays in terms of entertainment on the malls, and it's also not too long until the back-to-school season which ensures people have to go shopping."
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