Boxing Day Gives UK Retailers Little Reason to Celebrate

Boxing Day appears to be a muted affair for Great Britain’s merchants and shopping centers.

Morning footfall on U.K. high streets was down 10.1% compared to last year, with shopping center traffic down 6.1%, the BBC reported Thursday (Dec. 26), citing data from MRI Software.

The report said these figures are an early indication that eCommerce would continue to dominate sales on the post-Christmas holiday.

While many stores still forecast robust sales for the day, other major retailers such as John Lewis, M&S and Next kept most of their stores closed, saying they wanted to give employees a holiday break.

According to the report, data suggests that a 22.7% decline in in-store visits compared to pre-COVID levels, with overall Boxing Day activity levels are down 7.9% across all U.K. retail destinations, as of late afternoon, compared with the same day last year.

MRI Software’s Jenni Matthews told the BBC that a year-on-year uptick in footfall is anticipated starting Friday (Dec. 27). However, she added that this year’s downturn in shoppers on Boxing Day is a “major contrast” with 2023, when footfall up until 5 p.m. was nearly 3.3% higher than the previous year.

“This could be reflective of the shift in consumer behavior influenced by the ongoing cost-of-living crisis,” she said.

Last week saw the release of data from the U.K.’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing that while retail sales climbed in November, the results were dampened somewhat by consumers holding out for bargains. The report did not include the final week of November and did not include Black Friday.

“The official Black Friday date falls into our December release with only early promotions captured in our November non-seasonally adjusted estimates,” the ONS said in a news release. “This change in timing is accounted for by our seasonal adjustment approach. However, some retailers reported that Black Friday sales started well in advance of the official day.”

Meanwhile, recent data from both Visa and Mastercard showed that holiday shoppers in the U.S. were spending more online than at brick-and-mortar stores. Mastercard’s figures, released Thursday, showed that while total retail sales from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24 climbed 3.8%, online shopping was up 6.7%,

Visa’s preliminary data on holiday spending, released earlier this week, showed total retail spending in stores up 4.1% this year, while online shopping increased 7.1%. However, the Visa numbers also showed that in-store shopping remained popular, with roughly three-quarters of payment volume happening at brick-and-mortar establishments.