Festive footfall is starting to build nicely as the journey to Christmas already looks being upbeat for retailers, according to data from both global retail solutions portfolio Sensormatic Solutions and MRI Software.
Over the latest weekend (13-14 December) footfall rose 4.4% week-on-week, Sensormatic’s ShopperTrak Analytics data, which captures 40 billion store visits globally each year, showed.
Shopper counts across last week also increased steadily, rising 3.6% on the week before (1-7 December vs 8-14 December). However, footfall across Saturday and Sunday remained lower than 2024, down 5.7% and 5.4% year-on-year respectively.
UK shoppers were expected to have made 20.6 million transactions over Friday and Saturday, 6.39% higher than 2024, according to separate figures from Nationwide,
While footfall rose 3.5% week-on-week last Saturday, Sunday was the top performing day for store visits across the weekend, with shopper counts jumping 5.7% on the week prior and High Streets seeing the biggest boost (+12%).
Andy Sumpter, EMEA Retail consultant at Sensormatic Solutions, said: “After a mixed start to Peak Trading and concerns that consumer caution could dampen consumers’ Christmas spirits, retailers will have welcomed the tempered but steady build in festive footfall last week.”
Super Saturday (20 December) is expected to be the busiest day for store footfall of the entire Peak Trading season, according to Sensormatic’s predictions. This year, consumers are expected to make 10.7 million transactions on Super Saturday as they rush to finish their Christmas shopping.
Sumpter added: “All eyes now turn to Super Saturday, undoubtedly one of the highest-stakes shopping days of the Christmas season. And, while a single day can’t carry the entire trading period, retailers will be hoping that early momentum continues to build towards the Christmas crescendo.”
Over at MRI Software, retail footfall remained strong last week (8-14 December) compared to the prior week with a 3.1% rise recorded across all UK retail destinations. This was mainly driven by a 5% rise in high streets and a 2.2% uplift in shopping centres, whereas retail park visits were flat on the week before
While declines were recorded across the board on Sunday (-9.7%) and Tuesday (-6.2%), both mostly down to bad weather, “this did little to hamper overall trends”.
However, footfall rebounded strongly as conditions improved, with visits jumping 10.7% on Monday and 11.5% on Thursday, driven largely by activity on the high street. This could suggest the festive events and attractions drawing visitors in as well as festive parties whether they be work or social led, it said.
This is also reflected in Central London footfall remaining 4.2% higher week-on-week and 7.1% higher year-on-year. However historic and market towns recorded annual declines of -3.3% and -3% respectively.
Shopping centres witnessed similar trends to that of the high street with visits peaking on Thursday by 10%. Retail parks saw sharp declines on Sunday (-8.6%) and Tuesday (-5.7%) but experienced relatively steady growth for the remainder of the week.
Compared to the same week last year, footfall remained 0.5% lower largely influenced by a drop in shopping centre (-3.1%) and retail park (-1.6%) visits. High streets bucked the trend and saw visits rise by +1.3%.
