The week before Christmas saw signs of festive momentum building across UK retail destinations, suggesting shoppers are entering the final stretch of their Christmas preparations.
However, with many consumers still in work mode, annual footfall remained below last year’s levels, down 2.7 per cent for retail parks and 4.5 per cent for shopping centres.
High streets told a different story with footfall slipping by 2 per cent compared with the previous week and remained 2.1 per cent lower year on year, shows the data by MRI Software.
Much of this decline can be traced to Thursday, when visits dropped sharply by -18.8 per cent week on week and -19.1 per cent year on year, amid heavy rainfall across large parts of the UK, highlighting just how vulnerable high streets remain to poor weather conditions.
Despite this, the overall picture for the week was encouraging. Tuesday and Friday emerged as standout days, with footfall rising by 12.6 per cent and 11.6 per cent respectively across all UK retail destinations. This suggests a growing momentum as shoppers begin to focus their visits in the run-up to Christmas.
Super Saturday was particularly positive for high streets, which saw footfall climb 5.6 per cent compared with the same day last year, likely boosted by festive markets and seasonal events drawing people into town centres.
Retail parks and shopping centres, meanwhile, recorded modest declines on the day, which may prove to be a brief lull ahead of the traditionally busy final three days before Christmas.
Market towns outperformed all town types recording a +5.9 per cent uplift week on week which could reflect the many events taking place that are key in driving footfall over this busy period.
This contrasts with office dense locations in Central London’s which recorded a -7.1 per cent decline week on week but a +4.7 per cent lift from the same week last year indicating that Christmas socialising and post-work gatherings continue to support activity in towns and cities even as formal office attendance starts to taper off.
As the final trading days before Christmas unfold, retailers can expect a sharp uplift in activity. With shopper momentum clearly gathering, this last push will be crucial in determining how positively the retail sector closes out the year.
As the final trading days before Christmas unfold, retailers can expect a sharp uplift in activity. With shopper momentum clearly gathering, this last push will be crucial in determining how positively the retail sector closes out the year.