Boxing Day footfall down on UK high streets despite discounts
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Data may reflect shift in behaviour influenced by cost of living crisis or front-loading of spending. Fewer consumers have made the journey to high streets and shopping centres in search of Boxing Day discounts. Footfall across UK retailers was down 9.4% as of midday, compared with Boxing Day in 2023, according to data from the retail tech experts MRI Software.
“The decline in Boxing Day activity may reflect a shift in consumer behaviour, influenced by the ongoing cost of living crisis,” said MRI Software’s marketing and insights director, Jenni Matthews. As footfall levels jumped 18% on Christmas Eve this year, many shoppers may have also front-loaded their spending in a pre-gifting rush, Matthews said.
There has been a gradual decline in spending on high streets on 26 December over recent years, particularly since many big retailers such as John Lewis and Marks & Spencer choose to keep most stores closed to give their staff a break. The shift to online shopping is giving people the opportunity to grab early bargains from the comfort of their own home. MRI Software’s consumer pulse report showed that 53% of shoppers planned to complete at least half of their Christmas shopping online – a trend that may well continue into the period between Christmas and new year.
Overall, shoppers are expected to spend £3.7bn this Boxing Day. “The key thing about footfall numbers is that they don’t tell the whole story,” said Kien Tan, a senior retail adviser at PwC. “Lots of shops are now closed on Boxing Day. It used to be just John Lewis, but now Next, M&S and most big supermarkets close.”.
