Traffic in shopping centers increased in February 2024
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The reduction in consumer tension and the formation of the habit of celebrating February 14 contributed to the revival in shopping centers in Moscow and St. Petersburg, where traffic on this day increased by 9-14% compared to the previous week and by 2-6% year-on-year. This allows operators to form positive expectations for the weekends dedicated to February 23 and March 8. But the revival is felt mainly by restaurateurs, entertainment areas and service providers; retailers are content only with the absence of a decline.
The Mall Index (reflects the number of visitors per 1 thousand sq. m of retail space) in Moscow shopping centers on February 14 increased by 14% compared to the same day of the previous week (February 7) and by 6% year-on-year, Focus Technologies calculated. In St. Petersburg, the increase was 9% and 2%, respectively. According to Rstat, in the week of February 12–18, the index of attendance of objects in Moscow increased by 4.8% year-on-year, in Russia as a whole it decreased by 12.8%.
Mikhail Vasiliev, head of research and consulting at Focus Technologies, attributes the increase on February 14 to events aimed at creating a festive atmosphere in shopping centers. Director of the retail real estate department at Accent Capital (developing the Sokolniki shopping center), Svetlana Kuzmina, says that traffic at her property on February 14 increased by 9.1% year-on-year. In many facilities, she said, there are beauty salons, manicure studios, and barber shops, which are popular during the holidays.
Managing partner of Vanchugov and Partners, Alexey Vanchugov, attributes the growth in traffic to the high performance of entertainment zones. Director for Development of the Yakitoria franchise network Alexander Muratov said that in restaurants located in shopping centers, traffic increased by 5% year-on-year as of February 14, year-on-year. Co-owner of “Tigrus” (Osteria Mario, “Shvili” and Bar BQ Cafe) Henrik Winter speaks of an increase in attendance on this day by 40–60% year on year. According to the observations of IL Patio director Ella Nistratova, February 14 is becoming a more familiar holiday for Russians, and going to a restaurant is becoming part of the ritual. Vyacheslav Katsegorov, director of strategic development at Magazin Magazin, also noticed an increase in the number of trips to the cinema on February 14: last year there was no such dynamics.
This allows us to build a positive forecast for the upcoming holiday weekend. Mikhail Vasiliev expects that on February 23 traffic will be higher than the comparable day in the previous week by 8-15%, on March 8 – by 20-40% depending on the object. The year-on-year increase will be 2–5%. According to the expert, the indicators can be influenced, in particular, by the presence of a larger number of stores in shopping centers and a more favorable configuration of days: for example, last year March 8 fell on a Wednesday, and this year on a Friday, when traffic is generally higher.
Svetlana Kuzmina considers the general decrease in consumer tension to be an important factor: “Russians are gradually getting used to new prices.” The expert reminds that pre-holidays and holidays are a period of spontaneous purchases that help increase turnover. Henrik Winter says that there are requests for table reservations for February 23 and March 8. Alexander Muratov says that establishments are traditionally full on holidays. Ella Nistratova expects that on February 23 and March 8 there will be 15–20% more guests than usual.
Traffic in Stockmann stores during the holidays is at last year’s level, as is the average bill, notes the chain’s general director Gennady Levkin. Baon President Ilya Yaroshenko also talks more about stable revenue. Director of the market research department at CORE.XP Vasily Grigoriev warns that the holiday increase in traffic to shopping centers in any case does not allow us to draw conclusions about the general situation on the market, calling short-term bursts of revival natural. At the end of January, the overall Mall Index in Moscow shopping centers was indeed comparable to last year; for Russia as a whole, it increased by 1%. Mr. Vanchugov draws attention to the fact that consumers are still strongly influenced by the general background: any negative events can instantly affect attendance.
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