Peak Christmas high street footfall down 5.3% compared with last year, figures show
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High street footfall was 5.3% lower on December 23 compared to the same day last year, as cost-of-living pressures continued to impact households, according to recent figures. Retailers had anticipated a surge in sales on Monday, predicted to be this year's peak Christmas shopping day, and footfall did increase by 28.5% across all UK retail destinations compared to the previous week, MRI Software reported. Shopping centres saw a 45.5% rise in visits and retail parks experienced a 31.1% increase as consumers hunted for last-minute gifts and kept children entertained.
High streets also witnessed a 1.8% week-on-week increase in visitors. However, the year-on-year 5.3% drop in high street footfall suggested that many families were still feeling the pinch of the cost of living. This was echoed in the "modest" year-on-year increases recorded in shopping centres and retail parks of 1.4% and 4.9% respectively. MRI Software’s recent Consumer Pulse report found that 51% of consumers were worried about the rising cost of living over the next six months, driven by escalating energy and housing costs during the winter.
Jenni Matthews, marketing and insights director at MRI Software, commented: "While many are taking to the shops ahead of Christmas Day, this may well be the last splurge before a big spending freeze sets in in the new year for consumers, meaning that retailers should be taking heed of these trends to plan accordingly for a challenging start to 2025.".
According to recent figures, Christmas appears to have been a "disastrous" time for retailers, with an 11.4% decline in footfall during the final full week leading up to the holiday. Even on Super Saturday, typically the year's peak shopping day, footfall increased only 4.1% from the previous week and a mere 0.9% compared to the same Saturday the previous year.
