Shrewsbury shopping centres bucking national trend

Businesses in Shrewsbury have seen an increased number of shoppers passing through their doors.

It comes as national retail figures released showed a sales decline with the weakest January performance for three years.

But the Pride Hill Centre in Shrewsbury has seen an increase of 9.4 per cent.

More than 300, 000 shoppers poured into the shopping centre in January, an increase of more than 20,000 during the same time last year.

The national decline was impacted by the poor sales of computers, tablets, sound systems and TVs as shoppers expected to find continued low prices after Black Friday reductions.

Food sales were down, but toys and baby equipment, household appliances and fashion grew.

Kevin Lockwood, manager of the Darwin, Pride Hill and Riverside Shopping Centres in Shrewsbury, said "Footfall in the Pride Hill Centre is bucking national trends and is up 9.4 per cent with over 300,000 shoppers last month, an increase of more than 20,000 on last year.

"The centre has seen a major refurbishment over the past 18 months and the arrival of a number of new stores during that time, including the reopening of Hawkins Bazaar and Ryman.

"Overall footfall in the Darwin and Pride Hill Shopping Centres has remained at the same level as last year and Shrewsbury remains an attractive place to shop."

Cold weather in January saw clothes shoppers take advantage of seasonal markdowns. But some retailers, who had offered discounts from Black Friday suffered from low stock and availability.

David McCorquodale, of KPMG retail sales monitor, said: "After a subdued December, retailers experienced a semi-revival in fortunes as shoppers took advantage of the bargains on offer in the January sales."

Figures were not available for Telford Shopping Centre.