New openings at Stretford Mall boost footfall by 500k

Stretford Mall is celebrating a busy 12 months after seeing almost 500k extra visits in the last year.

The centre has welcomed a raft of big names from the retail and leisure sectors since last summer, including sports retailer JD, coffee chain Costa and supermarket Aldi.

Bosses at Stretford Mall attributed the increase in footfall to the recent openings, bucking a national trend that saw visitor numbers at shopping destinations across the UK dip by over 10%.

Centre manager Gareth Wilkins said: “We’ve had a fantastic 12 months since the three retailers opened their doors to the public.

“We knew that they would prove hugely popular with our shoppers and help grow and develop our retail and leisure offering, but the reaction has been well above what we expected.”

He continued: “Footfall in shopping centres is down, on average, by more than 2% nationally so to not only be bucking that trend but to see an increase that means we’re doing so by more than 10% is something that everyone at Stretford Mall is immensely proud of.

“We’ve enjoyed increasing numbers of visitors and stores throughout the mall have all played their part in helping to maintain that throughout the year.”

Speaking further, Gareth said the figures have given his team “even more motivation to continue to improve and develop” the customer experience at Stretford Mall.