Many predictions about UK footfall in the days immediately before and after Christmas turned out to be wrong and this could mean a rethink for festive 2026 strategies.
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We’ve already heard that so-called Super Saturday was a damp squib (a little too early perhaps with Christmas on a Thursday?)
We now also know that Boxing Day footfall proved to be “the star turn” in the festive shopping period, according to MRI Software data. Or do we? Contrasting figures for Boxing Day meant the Friday “failed to deliver post-Christmas pick-me-up for retail footfall”, as store traffic fell 1.3% year-on-year, according to Sensormatic Solutions ShopperTrak Analytics. Take from this what you will.
More of that later. First, let’s backtrack to the pre-Christmas Day story. In the final run-up to 25 December, shopping activity intensified sharply when compared with the prior week as the aforementioned Super Saturday (20 December), traditionally the peak day for shopping before Christmas, didn’t materialise, falling 6.9% year-on-year, according to Sensormatic Solutions’ ShopperTrak Analytics.
So it was left to Monday (22 December) to see a significant footfall surge 38.6% week on week, with high streets seeing particularly strong momentum (+37.4%). While Monday’s footfall across all UK retail destinations remained marginally lower year on year (-0.4%), “the uplift reflected shoppers making decisive, last-minute purchases”.
Data for Tuesday 23 December revealed footfall rose a further 27.4% week on week, despite remaining 2.3% lower than the same day last year.
Week-on-week traffic saw shopping centres with the greatest footfall gains, while store visits also improved 42.7% on the daily average for December.
Christmas Eve (24 December) proved to be the peak, with footfall up 4.7% week on week and by 1.4% year on year. Retail parks and shopping centres outperformed high streets as shoppers focused on convenience and efficiency while finalising festive purchases in the final hours before Christmas Day. We may see that repeated this year as Christmas Eve will be a Thursday and Super Saturday will be even earlier.
Despite Christmas week traditionally marking a natural slowdown in shopping activity (due to stores being closed on the day itself), UK retail destinations “delivered a resilient performance”, MRI Software said.
Overall, footfall for the wider 21-27 December period, when viewed year on year, was 3.9% higher across all UK retail destinations, suggesting that the later placement of Christmas in the week provided shoppers with additional time to complete last-minute festive purchases.
On a week-on-week basis, footfall fell 12.8%, largely reflecting the disruption of Christmas Day itself and the quieter trading days that followed.
Post-Christmas activity
After a slower start on the morning of Boxing Day (26 December), footfall rebounded strongly, making it a standout trading day, reported MRI Software. Across all UK retail destinations, it said footfall rose 4.4% year on year compared with Boxing Day 2024, “the strongest increase witnessed in a decade”.
Retail parks led the way with an 8.8% uplift, while high streets (+3.6%) and shopping centres (+2.1%) also saw strong gains, suggesting shoppers were keen to get out earlier than in previous years.
But as mentioned, Sensormatic’s daytime Boxing Day numbers showed a decline so it’s likely that evening openings were key.
“After what has been an unpredictable festive trading period, defined by shaky consumer confidence and spending hesitancy, retailers would have been counting on Boxing Day boost to shopper numbers in-store,” said Andy Sumpter, EMEA Retail Consultant at Sensormatic Solutions.
“While Boxing Day remains an important trading period, the shape of the traditional post-Christmas sales period has shifted, with early discounting, online migration and some retailers opting to remain closed on the 26 Dec all contributing towards the changing nature of the event.”
Interestingly, MRI said Boxing Day’s uplift was driven by evening activity, with footfall between 5pm and 11pm averaging +9.6%, compared with a more modest average +3.1% increase during daytime hours. With some retail stores remaining closed until 27 December, it’s likely that leisure and hospitality venues benefited from this later surge in activity.
Sumpter, added: “After what has been an unpredictable festive trading period, defined by shaky consumer confidence and spending hesitancy, retailers would have been counting on Boxing Day boost to shopper numbers in-store. While Boxing Day remains an important trading period, the shape of the traditional post-Christmas sales period has shifted, with early discounting, online migration and some retailers opting to remain closed on the 26 December all contributing towards the changing nature of the event.”
“While the days of consumers queuing outside Next stores at 5am on 26 December to shop eagerly awaited sales may now be gone, the extended Boxing Day period remains a strategically significant trading window for retailers — especially as some look to make up for lost ground after softer demand earlier in the month.”
Saturday shoppers
Momentum carried into Saturday (27 December), with footfall up 1.6% year on year, according to MRI Software. High streets led again (+2.4%), closely followed by retail parks (+2.1%), indicating shoppers were combining sales trips with dining, leisure and social plans. However, shopping centres saw a slower start to the sales period, recording a slight -0.6% dip.
Across the weekend (27-28 December), year on year footfall was 4.6% higher across all UK retail destinations.
Into Monday 29 December, momentum continued for high streets as footfall remained 1% higher year on year, said MRI Software.
MRI Software also revealed Tuesday 30 December footfall was busier than New Years Eve 2024. Week-on-week footfall fell 16.9% with high streets down 14%, retail parks falling 22.3% and shopping centres the place to be, with footfall rising 17.7%.
Compared to a year ago, overall footfall was up 15.5%, with high streets rising 12.4%, retail parks up 16.8% and shopping centres up 20.7%.
