Late shopper rush drives Boxing Day sale traffic

A night surge in buyers eager on Boxing Day bargains drove a decade-high improve in footfall for the annual gross sales, figures counsel.It was up by 4.4% throughout all UK retail locations together with excessive streets and procuring centres in comparison with the identical day final yr, in response to information from MRI Software program.Footfall additionally remained robust on Saturday, and MRI anticipated the robust post-Christmas procuring momentum to proceed into the brand new yr.However increased footfall doesn’t essentially translate into increased spending, and Barclays has forecast that buyers would spend £1bn much less on this yr’s Boxing Day offers.By 3pm on 26 December, it appeared there had been a muted response to the gross sales, in response to early MRI information with excessive road visits down 1.5% in comparison with 2024 and procuring centre visits down 0.6%.MRI counts footfall in additional than 660 retail places throughout the UK and retail analyst Jenni Matthews mentioned that because the day progressed, it grew to become clear that buyers have been deciding to move out however only a bit later within the day.”The increase in exercise was pushed by a peak in visits throughout all UK retail locations from 5pm – 11pm averaging +9.6% versus a mean improve of +3.1% from 6am-5pm,” she mentioned.With many shops not reopening till 28 December, Ms Matthews mentioned it was probably that hospitality and leisure venues would have benefited from the rise in foot visitors.”That is an early indicator that the retail sector might effectively finish the yr on a optimistic be aware given the difficult instances confronted initially of the yr,” she mentioned.Customers have been additionally out in pressure on Saturday, in response to the MRI information, with footfall throughout retail locations up by 1.6% in comparison with 27 December final yr.Ms Matthews mentioned that with household gatherings ending and the brand new yr looming, MRI anticipates footfall will proceed to rise over the approaching days.”Customers [will be] probably procuring the gross sales, taking advantage of the festive occasions and sights inside cities and cities, and stocking up on New 12 months’s Eve necessities, preserving the festive retail interval firmly in movement,” she mentioned.Analysts say 2025 has been a difficult yr for individuals as rising costs and different components have squeezed family funds.Barclays’ client spend report recommended that fewer individuals deliberate to benefit from the gross sales, forecasting buyers to spending £3.6bn, down from £4.6bn final yr.Latest retail spending information from the Workplace for Nationwide Statistics confirmed that many patrons resisted the lure of November’s Black Friday gross sales, with solely a 0.1% raise in gross sales volumes.