'Disastrous' Christmas for retailers as households battle cost-of-living pressures
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Retailers have been hit with a "disastrous" Christmas as the cost-of-living crisis continues to hold back household spending, new figures suggest. Data from Rendle Intelligence and Insights reveals that retail footfall plummeted by 11.4% compared to last year in the crucial final week before Christmas. Even on Super Saturday, which is usually the busiest shopping day of the year, there was only a marginal increase in shoppers.
Footfall on this day was up just 4.1% from the previous Saturday and a mere 0.9% from the same day last year. Black Friday, however, saw a 5.5% rise in footfall from last year, indicating that consumers may have chosen to do their festive shopping during the sales.
Diane Wehrle, chief executive of Rendle Intelligence and Insights, commented: "The disappointing results, which come on the same day that we have learnt that the economy failed to grow between July and September, clearly reflect the ongoing cost pressures faced by households following a prolonged period of very high inflation. It appears this Christmas has been disastrous for retail, and a bad omen for 2025.".
Sensormatic Solutions reported a slight 0.8% year-on-year increase in Super Saturday footfall, attributing the small boost to early discounting. On another note, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has issued a warning about a potential spending squeeze in January.
According to BRC-Opinium, public confidence in the economic situation took a dive in December, dropping eight points to minus 27. The public's spending intentions have declined by six points, with anticipated spending in almost all retail categories decreasing.
