Recent research by sustainable transport charity, Sustrans, concludes that pedestrians are positive news for local trade. 'Shoppers and how they travel', the first study of its kind to look at neighbourhood shopping areas, highlights the importance of catering for pedestrians and bus passengers at local shops as these customers are better for business.
Sustrans' research found that retailers significantly overestimate how far their customers travel and the importance of the car, while underestimating how many shops each customer visits. Retailers thought 41% of their customers arrived by car, whereas only 22% had done - actually over half of shoppers walked. Retailers estimated that just 12% of customers lived within half a mile, and 40% more than two miles away. In reality, 42% had travelled less than half a mile and 86% had travelled less than two miles. These very good customers usually don't just visit one shop. Traders believed that as many as one in four shoppers would make just one visit but this figure was actually only 13%. They thought less than one in ten would visit more than three shops, remarkably, almost 30% did so.
The evidence indicates that it would be advantageous for businesses to support measures aimed at attracting more pedestrians and bus passengers to local shopping streets rather than car users. Local shops would benefit from traffic restraint, public transport improvements, and a range of measures to improve the walking environment.
To download a copy of 'Shoppers and how they travel' visit http://tinyurl.com/adrx5
For further information about Sustrans visit: www.sustrans.org.uk