Shopper traffic to rise 0.5 per cent year-on-year on Super Saturday: RetailNext

Super Saturday (21 December) is expected to drive a rise in retail footfall, as last-minute shoppers descend on stores, according to RetailNext, a leading analytics solution for bricks-and-mortar retailers.

However, share of festive spend could see a marked shift from traditional retailers to discounters in the last days of pre-Christmas trading.

Data from RetailNext’s UK shopper traffic index, which captures billions of store visits globally each year, suggests that footfall on Super Saturday will rise 0.5 per cent year-on-year (Sat 21 Dec 2024 vs 23 Dec 2023).

Traditionally one of the busiest in-store shopping days of peak trading, Super Saturday falls two days earlier this year compared to 2023, prompting a modest shopper count increase. However, with some of the busiest days are still to come, Gary Whittemore, head of sales EMEA & APAC at RetailNext said it will mark the beginning of a shift from online to in-store shopping in the final trading days pre-Christmas.

“As time starts to run out between now and the Big Day - and with many last online delivery deadlines looming - Super Saturday is set to mark the tipping point where digital shopping migrates in-store, as consumers tick off the final gifts on their Christmas shopping lists,” Whittemore said.

“With shoppers tipped to have spent almost £2.5billion in the last weekend before Christmas last year, retailers will be hopeful that, after what’s been a bumpy peak trading period to date, the expected surge in festive footfall will translate into ample conversions.”

Meanwhile, the traditional share of festive spend could significantly shift this year from high street retailers to discounters, with a survey of over 1,000 UK consumers by RetailNext showing that shoppers plan to switch over a third (36%) of Christmas spending budgets to discount brands such as Lidl, Aldi, Home Bargains and B&M, rising to 41 per cent of millennials’ intended festive spending.

This changing of the guard can also be seen in the key anchor stores driving footfall to retail parks in the run up to Super Saturday. While M&S topped the key anchor stores that would drive Christmas shoppers to visit retail parks or out-of-town shopping destinations (42%) in RetailNext’s poll, this was followed by discount brands B&M (41%), Home Bargains (38%) and discount supermarket, Aldi (32%).

“While the acute pressure on household spend appears to be easing, shoppers aren’t simply snapping back to pre-cost-of-living spending habits,” Whittemore noted.

“Having learnt savvy and thrifty shopping hacks, consumers have redefined their concept of value. And this is bearing out in expected share of wallet for Christmas, with discounters’ retail offers, such as Aldi’s middle aisle, likely to benefit from these value-driven buying behaviours.”