Shopper traffic is expected to increase on Boxing Day, up 3 per cent year-on-year, according to retail intelligence specialist, FootFall.
Whilst other key festive shopping days have been dominated by online sales as opposed to physical footfall in-store – footfall on Black Friday and Panic Saturday were both down by 4.05 per cent and 4.03 per cent year-on-year respectively – Boxing Day is predicted to buck the trend and see shopper traffic return to the high street. This rise, FootFall suggests, is due to Boxing Day falling on a Saturday.
Steve Richardson, UK Regional Director at FootFall, commented: “With Boxing Day falling on a Saturday, this means for most an extended Christmas break with the extra bank holiday on Monday 28 December. We anticipate the extra day will motivate shoppers to use this additional day off to seek out further bargains, spend Christmas vouchers and even return or exchange unwanted Christmas gifts, causing shopper traffic to rise 3 per cent year-on-year on Boxing Day.”
“In fact, we anticipate footfall across the Christmas weekend to continue to rise, with retail parks and town centres set to rise 7 per cent and 5.8 per cent year-on-year respectively on Sunday,” Richardson added.
John Coyne, Chief Executive of the British Council of Shopping Centres (BCSC), added: “Our predictions suggest that footfall on the high street, in shopping centres and in retail parks will be up over the festive period and that’s good news for local communities, the economy and employment. It also reflects the evolving nature of retail places, which increasingly provide a mix of retail, leisure, food and beverage, outlets along with services like click and collect which encourage shoppers to pick-up goods in-store.”
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