Boxing Day footfall decreased by 11.8 per cent compared to Boxing Day 2018, according to official data from ShopperTrak. Overall footfall for the year sits marginally up 0.1 per cent against the same period 2018.
However, while footfall was down year-on-year on Boxing Day itself, today, 27 December, is expected to be a peak day for in-store shopper traffic and is predicted to the fifth busiest in-store shopping day of the entire Christmas trading period, according to the Festive Peak Shopping 2019/20 Report released by Sensormatic Solutions. Insights from the report are based on data from more than 1.5 million data collection devices in the retail marketplace and 40 billion shopper visits captured by the ShopperTrak brand each year.
Nick Pompa, global general manager at ShopperTrak, commented: “While footfall declined year-on-year on Boxing Day itself, the post-Christmas sales period remains a key date in the retail calendar for stores; last year Brits spent £4.75 billion across the Boxing Day sales, with every 3 in 4 pounds spent in-store. As Boxing Day (26 December) fell on a Thursday this year, it is anticipated that the peak in shopper traffic will take place on Friday 27 December, as shoppers make the most of taking an extra day off to extend the Christmas break, allowing them to shop or return gifts.”
With stores remaining busy in between Christmas and the return to work in the New Year, having insight into how many shoppers are walking into stores, along with the timing, can help retailers make informed decisions – and create more impactful marketing promotions – to enhance customer experience and drive retail performance.
“By understanding and acting upon insight from shopper traffic trends, retailers can optimise scheduling decisions, merchandising, inventory fulfilment and even loss prevention awareness to help maximise sales opportunities presented during the busiest days of peak trading,” Pompa concluded.
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