Data from payment provider, Dojo, has revealed shoppers in Stockport were among some of the UK’s biggest spenders following the reopening of non-essential retailers on April 12th.
Data collected by the firm, which supplies contactless card payment terminals to retailers, identified the towns and cities across the UK with the highest average spend per card transaction.
Dojo found shoppers in Stockport were the North’s biggest spenders, with an average transaction spend of £106.82 during the period from 12th to 29th April. The borough ranked third overall, behind Portsmouth and Coventry.
Manchester ranked 7th, with the average spending transaction coming in at £91.76, with Dojo’s leaderboard dominated by large towns and smaller cities, suggesting consumers are still opting to stay local for their shopping.
The presence of Primark in Stockport town centre may also have boosted the number of shoppers coming into the town: analysis of Google search volumes of various big-name retail brands found that the retailer experienced an 854% increase in searches, the second biggest increase behind only Ikea. News outlets reported queues outside stores on April 12th, with demand likely driven by the brand’s lack of ecommerce presence. Other big-name retail brands among Dojo’s most-searched with a Stockport presence include Matalan, Clarks and Waterstones.
The payment provider’s data paints a positive picture for retail in Stockport that is further corroborated by footfall data for the town centre revealed last week. Despite high streets taking a significant hit to foot traffic throughout the pandemic, data from the town centre shows Stockport is seeing week-on-week footfall ahead of the national average.