Despite the end of pedestrianization, Millavois traders draw up a mixed assessment of the latest sales

Le rapport entre piétonnisation et fréquentation commerciale semble toujours difficile à faire. Midi Libre – E.Q

Pour les commerçants millavois les soldes, terminées le 6 février dernier, n'ont pas été une franche réussite. La fin de la piétonnisation n'a eu qu'un impact limité sur leurs résultats.

From traders from Place de la Capelle to Place du Mandarous, via Boulevard de Bonald, the observation is widely shared:  from January 11 to February 6, sales of & #39;winters have disappointed. And this, despite the end of pedestrianization at the end of November, about which many Millavois traders complained.

The results of the sales vary depending on the location, but at Place de la Capelle the results are clear. "We had traffic almost halved on the square, compared to last year", estimates Louise Bigeard, saleswoman at the Pimkie store. A figure that is corroborated by other traders on the square. The same goes for the traditional store, Chaussures Chauchard, located on rue Peyssière, accessible only to pedestrians. "It'was less good this year, we are impacted by private sales with promotions all year round".

Loss of consumer purchasing power

The argument is regularly cited by the traders interviewed. In fact, a well-known shoe sales store in the city center admits it to us, "we were already on private sale a week before the sales, so this n& rsquo;was not the craze that there was before. The other explanation widely put forward is the loss of purchasing power of consumers, "especially because of the rise in food prices, advances François Felicia from the Jules boutique, place de la Capelle.

Conversely, the majority of people met believe that the end of pedestrianization did not have an important role in the sales. "It's a very good thing that they have reopened the streets, but January was very bad and it’ is not linked to the opening or closing", breathes Anne Delagnes, manager of the Jolain leather goods store, place du Mandarous. Among the retailers interviewed, only the Bonobo boutique team clearly blames pedestrianization for the poor results of last year's sales."LLast year's sales really worked less when there was pedestrianization, she supports.

The difficult objective assessment of pedestrianization 

In fact, it is difficult to objectively assess the role of pedestrianization in frequentation of shops. "These data do not&#39 ;do not exist for Millau, we have them with a lot of delay", explains Emmanuelle Gazel, mayor of Millau. This is not the only difficulty of analysis, "there are many elements, purchasing power, change of practical, so it is difficult to isolate what relates to pedestrianization, especially since this was spread over several years , she continues.

If there is a lack of data on the number of shops, the Town Hall services have quantified pedestrian traffic in the city center. "With pedestrianization, people stayed less long but there were more people, around Mandarou, but this is also valid in almost the entire center.&quot ; Despite these disappointing sales, the Mayor defends the vitality of Millavois commerce. "On has a positive business installation balance! That is to say that there are more businesses setting up in Millau than businesses closing.