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Festive footfall begins to build

Store traffic rises +4.4% over the weekend, according to Sensormatic Solutions

Festive footfall begins to build

Christmas shoppers in Oxford Street

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  • UK footfall across the weekend rose +4.4% week-on-week as Christmas shopper counts started to build – however footfall remained down compared to 2024
  • Sunday saw the biggest weekly improvement in store visits, rising +5.7%, with High Streets seeing the biggest boost (+12%)
  • Super Saturday (20 Dec 2025) is predicted to be the busiest in-store shopping day of the entire festive trading season
Festive footfall is starting to build as retailers race towards Christmas, according to data from Sensormatic Solutions.

Its ShopperTrak Analytics data, which captures 40 billion store visits globally each year, showed that footfall rose +4.4 per cent over the weekend (Sat 13 and Sun 14 Dec 2025) compared to the weekend before. Shopper counts across last week also increased steadily, rising +3.6 per cent on the week before (01 – 07 Dec 2025 vs 08 – 14 Dec 2025). However, footfall across Saturday and Sunday remained lower than 2024, falling -5.7 per cent and -5.4 per cent year-on-year respectively.

UK shoppers were expected to have made 20.6 million transactions over Friday and Saturday last week (12 and 13 Dec 2025), according to separate figures from Nationwide: +6.39 per cent higher than 2024. While footfall rose +3.5 per cent week-on-week on Saturday (13 Dec 2025), Sunday (14 Dec 2025) was the top performing day for store visits across the weekend, with shopper counts jumping +5.7 per cent on the week prior and High Streets seeing the biggest boost (+12 per cent).


“After a mixed start to Peak Trading and concerns that consumer caution could dampen consumers’ Christmas spirits, retailers will have welcomed the tempered but steady build in festive footfall last week,” said Andy Sumpter, EMEA Retail Consultant at Sensormatic Solutions. “However, retailers won’t be taking anything for granted. With under ten days to go before the Big Day, they’ll be doubling down on driving store traffic and capturing seasonal spend as we race towards what’s set to be the busiest day for in-store Christmas shopping: Super Saturday.”

Super Saturday (20 Dec 2025) is expected to be the busiest day for store footfall of the entire Peak Trading season. This year, consumers are expected to make 10.7million transactions on Super Saturday as they rush to finish their Christmas shopping.

Historical data from the ShopperTrak Analytics platform spanning 2021 – 2024 also showed that for three of the last four years, Super Saturday has been the peak busiest day for store visits. Last year on Super Saturday, footfall jumped +4.1 per cent week-on-week – an improvement of +0.8 per cent year-on-year – as shoppers scrambled to pick up last-minute gifts, spurred on by some retailers bringing forward Boxing Day discounts to drive up pre-Christmas demand.

“All eyes now turn to Super Saturday, undoubtedly one of the highest-stakes shopping days of the Christmas season,” Sumpter added. “And, while a single day can’t carry the entire trading period, retailers will be hoping that early momentum continues to build towards the Christmas crescendo.”