Shoppers shun UK high streets despite lure of Boxing Day sales | Retail industry
As fewer shoppers head to the UK’s high streets to find Boxing Day sales, central London has seen a significant drop in footfall as many people decide to avoid traditional sales.
Footfall on the country’s high streets and shopping malls fell on Friday morning, falling slightly behind last year, according to figures from tracking company MRI Software. Footfall across all retail outlets in the UK decreased by 0.3%.
Following the Boxing Day slump in 2024, there were 2.4% fewer visitors on England’s high streets compared to December 26 last year, while there was a 2.6% drop in the number of people going to shopping centres.
However, retail parks bucked this trend and experienced a 6.9% increase in footfall on Boxing Day morning. Often located outside the city, accessible by car and often offering free parking, retail parks have become more popular with shoppers in recent years thanks to their convenience.
Jenni Matthews, MRI’s director of marketing and insights, said the rise in shoppers deciding to visit retail parks could be seen as “an encouraging start to Boxing Day”.
“This suggests shoppers may be out earlier than expected to snap up these sales; brush those festive cobwebs aside,” he added.
Cold weather may prevent some people who want to shop from traveling far from home. Central London recorded a 7.7% drop in visitors compared to the previous year; This is a much larger drop than the 3.4% drop recorded in other cities.
In contrast, there was an increase of around 4% in visitors to outer London and a 10% increase in visitors to seaside towns as consumers looked to combine a visit to the shops with a day out.
The traditional post-Christmas start to post-Christmas sales has increasingly moved online in recent years, giving consumers the opportunity to secure some deals from the comfort of their sofa as early as Christmas Day. Major fashion and homeware retailers including Marks & Spencer and Next are now offering up to 50% off online, while the discounts will only be available in stores from Saturday.
However, shopping groups Manchester’s Trafford Center indoor shopping mallSome outlets opened their doors as early as 7.30 in the morning.
Queues have gathered outside the Selfridges store, which, like cosmetics retailer Lush, is offering discounts of up to 50%.
In the run-up to the big day, retailers were hoping for a late rush to buy gifts as Christmas Day falls on a Thursday this year, and predicted shoppers would hunt for last-minute items earlier in the week.
But there were signs that some consumers were giving up on purchases. Mild weather in the fall and early winter has led to fewer people adding sweaters, coats or boots to their baskets across much of the country, according to Clive Black, head of consumer research at Shore Capital.
Many major fashion retailers, including Next and John Lewis, launched their sales ahead of Christmas, while others, including New Look and Sports Direct, were advertising discounts of up to 70% off.
Retailers face a tough trading year in 2025, with many consumers reining in their spending at a time when energy and grocery bills remain high. Uncertainty approaching Rachel Reeve’s budget due to possible tax rises at the end of November has shaken consumer confidence at the start of the crucial pre-Christmas trading period.
However, the average shopper is expected to spend £17 more on end-of-year sales than last year, with the average budget rising to £253 from £236 in 2024, according to figures from lender Barclays. However, it is anticipated that fewer consumers will participate in this campaign due to cost of living pressures.
UK consumers were expected to spend £3.6 billion in Boxing Day sales; because more sales customers are using artificial intelligence and other tools to help them find the best deals. This figure was £1bn lower than forecast for Boxing Day 2024.
