Boxing Day sales: High street footfall down as shoppers stay home

Shoppers are expected to spend a total of £4.6 billion this Boxing Day, as ITV News' Alex Iszatt reports

The Boxing Day sales have seen a noticeable dip in footfall, with the number of shoppers hitting the high streets down 10% compared to last year.

The slump in Boxing Day shopper footfall could be influenced by the cost of living crisis, an analyst has said.

Boxing Day footfall was down 9.4% across all UK retail destinations by 12pm in comparison with last year, MRI Software’s OnLocation Footfall Index found.

This came after Barclays forecast that shoppers would spend £236 each on average in the Boxing Day sales this year, but that the majority of purchases would be made online.

Last year by 12pm, footfall across all destinations was up 2.8% compared with 2022.

This year marks the first drop in Boxing Day retail footfall recorded by MRI Software since before the pandemic.

The decline is a “major contrast”, said Jenni Matthews, marketing and insights director at MRI Software.

She said: “This could be reflective of the shift in consumer behaviour influenced by the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.”

Meanwhile, a study by Barclays Consumer Spend researchers found that a total of £4.6 billion will be spent on Boxing Day.

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, with some of that figure due to inflation, the researchers found.

Amid the financial pressures, many people are planning to buy practical, perishable and essential items, such as food and kitchenware.

A total of 65% of shoppers are expecting to spend the majority of their sales budget online. Last year, some 63.9% of Boxing Day retail purchases were found to have been made online.

However, a quarter of respondents aim to spend mostly in-store - an 11% rise compared with last year.

The findings come after major retailers, including Next, Marks & Spencer and John Lewis, announced they will not open their bricks and mortar stores on Boxing Day.

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.

"Boxing Day continues to be a crucial time for the retail sector, and the renewed interest in in-store shopping, alongside the enduring resilience of online platforms, demonstrates a more balanced and adaptive approach from consumers, which we hope will continue into the new year."

Consumers choose in-store shopping largely because they enjoy the social aspect and touching items before they buy, Barclays said, adding that high streets and shopping centres are the most popular destinations.

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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%.

"This marks a shift towards more functional finds, as Brits seek to use the sales to save on practical big-ticket items, which ordinarily fall outside their budgets," Barclays said.

"Taking this a step further, a quarter [24%] say they will only be buying what they consider essential items in the post-Christmas sales.

"Similarly, the top motivations for post-Christmas sales shopping include replacing products that have run out [35%] or lost or broken items [31%]."

A third of respondents are expecting to shop on reseller websites as people post their unwanted gifts.

Barclays said: "Half [48%] of those are doing so because they think they will be able to bag a bargain from people's unwanted Christmas gifts, while over a third [36%] say the cost of living means they will be buying more second-hand items than usual, in a bid to make their money go further."

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.

*The Barclays Consumer Spend research was carried out in November and there were 2,000 respondents in each round.

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