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Bloomberg
The rush to take advantage of post-Christmas sales lifted shopper numbers on Boxing Day, but with the cost-of-living crisis pushing UK consumers to cut back on spending any boost for retailers may prove short-lived.
Retail tracker Springboard said Boxing Day shopper numbers rose 39% on 2021, when there were still some pandemic restrictions in place and limited trading hours because the traditional start of sales fell over weekend. Footfall, however, remained below pre-pandemic levels.
In London, the number of shoppers rose 66% from the previous year, as planned rail strikes on December 26 and December 27 failed to deter many bargain hunters.
Scott Parsons, chief operating officer at UK mall operator Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, said its two London sites have had 11 million visitors during the Christmas period so far, on par with 2019.
“Visitors are not just coming to take advantage of the sales, but also catching up with friends and family for dinner and drinks,†or taking a whirl round the ice rink, he added, suggesting that higher footfall may not fully translate into traditional retail sales.
Rampant inflation has forced some Britons to scale back spending, particularly on discretionary items, as the higher cost of mortgage payments, energy and food bites. Consumer prices rose 9.3% in November from a year earlier, fuelled by housing, household bills, food and soft drinks.