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Boxing Day bargain hunters appear to be in short supply this year, as footfall in shopping hotspots across the country fell.
Analysis of popular shopping areas on Thursday showed footfall was down 10.6 per cent from last year across all UK retail destinations until 10am and down 9.4 per cent until 12pm.
The figure for all destinations was 49.2 per cent lower than pre-pandemic levels in 2019, with south-west England seeing the largest drop of 26.7 per cent compared with last year’s turnout.
The next largest decline in footfall – measured by MRI Software’s OnLocation Footfall Index – was 11.1 per cent in Greater London, measured by MRI Software’s OnLocation Footfall Index
Jenni Matthews, marketing and insights director at MRI Software, said the data marked a “major contrast” with last year’s data, which was almost 3 per cent higher than the year before.
“This could be reflective of the shift in consumer behaviour influenced by the ongoing cost of living crisis, but then we also saw that footfall on Christmas Eve was 18% higher in all UK retail destinations compared to Christmas Eve the year before,” she added.
“Could that be suggestive of shoppers front-loading their spending in a pre-Christmas rush?”
It comes after major retailers including Next, Marks & Spencer and John Lewis announced they would not open their physical stores on Boxing Day.
Ms Matthews said: “A lot of this could be that people have spent as much as they can spend this year, they spent it up (to) and on Christmas Eve.
“We’ve also got the rise of online sales as well, we saw a lot of online sales kick off last night – a lot of people will have grabbed those bargains from the comfort of their own home, from their mobile devices, laptops, whatever they’ve got to hand.
“There were many, many sales that kicked off just before Christmas Day as well, we saw some stores launch their sales on Christmas Eve, on December 23, so a lot of people will have grabbed a bargain then as well.”
A study by Barclays Consumer Spend researchers also found although people may not have shown up on the High Street, they would likely be making the majority of their Boxing Day purchases online.
Its research found shoppers are predicted to spend £236 each on average in the sales, with a total of £4.6bn expected to be spent.
Nearly half of respondents said the cost of living crisis will affect their post-Christmas shopping but the forecast average spend is still £50 more per person than it was before the pandemic, Barclays said, with some of that figure due to inflation.
Karen Johnson, head of retail at Barclays, said: “Despite the ongoing cost-of-living pressures, it is encouraging to hear that consumers will be actively participating in the post-Christmas sales.
“This year, we’re likely to see a shift towards practicality and sustainability, with more shoppers looking to bag bargains on kitchen appliances and second-hand goods.”
The researchers found a 7% rise in people planning to buy kitchen items such as kettles, air fryers and blenders this year, with groceries increasing by 5%.
Men expect to spend £53 more than women on average, and overall shoppers are predicting they will spend £18 less per person than in last year’s sales.
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