As retail footfall moved closer to pre-Covid levels in February, motorcycle point-of-sale funding provider MotoNovo Finance says it finished the month with a record performance.
“Our volumes in the final week of February were extraordinary, especially in light of traditional trends ahead of the 1 March new plates,” reported MotoNovo managing director Karl Werner. “The result was that, on 28 February, we hit an all-time lending record.”
According to British Retail Consortium data, total UK high-street footfall hit the highest number of shopper counts seen since pre-pandemic levels in the last week of the month — a trend precisely matched by MotoNovo’s own activity registered in that period.
Assessing the reasons for this increase, Werner pointed to a combination of factors. These included work by MotoNovo to improve acceptance levels and the launch of a business strategy focused upon an all-new target operating model. But above all, his instinct concluded the footfall surge was something more human.
“I sense we have seen a real desire for togetherness,” Werner added. “People are pleased to be out and about and working to create the new normal — that has been referenced widely. Evidenced by the huge uplift in face-to-face contact, dealers are pleased to see us and all their feedback from customers reflects similar views. Personal contact is being valued very highly.”