Boxing day footfall up as UK shoppers hit the sales

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Britons were lured by Boxing Day sales, with more visits to shops than last year.

Footfall across high streets, shopping centres and retail parks rose 4 per cent year-on-year, largely driven by trips to high streets and shops in London, according to data from retail analysts MRI Software, spelling good news for shopkeepers.

Footfall on Boxing Day is typically lacklustre as consumers finished their shopping in the week before Christmas, and many high street chains are shut for the day. But in central London it was up by 10.6 per cent year-on-year, and by 1.6 per cent on pre-pandemic levels.

London’s West End rounded off the festive shopping season with a 5 per cent increase in visits driven by international tourists, according to data from New West End Company, which represents 600 retail, restaurant, hotel and property owners in the area.

However, Dee Corsi, its chief executive, said cost of living pressures continued to weigh on domestic spending in the capital.

Shoppers had been expected to spend £253 each in the festive sales this year — the highest amount in four years — totalling £4.7bn across the UK, according to debit and credit card provider Barclays.

Fashion items such as clothes, shoes and accessories were expected to be the most sought after products among sales shoppers, appearing on 34 per cent of wish lists, and up slightly from 30 per cent last year, Barclays added.

Skincare, beauty and make-up products were also in high demand among shoppers surveyed by the company, with 23 per cent saying they would be buying them during the sales, up from 15 per cent in 2022.

Shopping centres and retail parks were less popular with shoppers than high streets, with visits down 1 per cent year-on-year, and about a quarter lower than in 2019, according to MRI Software.

It found that across the country footfall remained 14.9 per cent lower than pre-pandemic levels, underscoring the changes in consumers’ behaviour in recent years.

Jenni Matthews, MRI Software marketing and insights director, said this indicated “the long-term impacts of the continued rise of online shopping”.

Britons also secured their bargains early during sales events such as Black Friday, as well as shifting spending away from Boxing Day sales to the three days between December 27 and 29.

“Many people may still be spending time with their families on Boxing Day and not be heading out to stores and destinations until later in the week,” Matthews said.

Boxing Day has also become predominantly “leisure focused” over the years, according to Diane Wehrle, chief executive of Rendle Intelligence and Insights.

“For many consumers that do venture out, it is much more of a leisure trip, with the focus on dining out and the top up being the opportunity to browse the shops,” she said.