Damning Boxing Day figures have laid the dire state of the UK’s high streets bare. Visits to shopping streets in Britain were down 1.5% on 2024, data suggests. Shopping centres, meanwhile, saw a 0.6% fall, according to MRI Software figures.
Research also showed that retail parks saw 6.7% more people visiting when compared to the same time last year. Barclays forecasted shoppers to spend £3.6billion in today’s sales, down from the £4.6billion it predicted in 2024.
It isn’t just in-person shopping that’s looking grim, as the amount of cash spent online is also expected to decrease. This is despite those who plan to shop having boosted their budgets by £17 compared with 2024, as detailed by Barclays’s consumer spend report.
Diane Wehrle, chief executive of Rendle Intelligence and Insights, told the BBC: “In the run up to Christmas, consumers have really pulled back on spending because they were very nervous, particularly pre-Budget in November.”
Others have homed in one the retail park figure.
Retail analyst for MRI Software, Jenni Matthews, told the Press Association earlier today: “It’s a really positive start to Boxing Day, which we’ve not seen for a number of years.
“So really encouraging and especially given that the retail sector have had quite a tough start to the year as well.
“So this is a really, really strong close to the year.”
Analysts would not normally see these numbers for a couple of days, she added, and they are even more promising considering a lot of stores are still closed.
Ms Matthews suggested retail parks were doing particularly well as they offer hospitality and leisure spots as well as stores, and that people could be eating or doing an activity there rather than just shopping.
Katie Wyle, managing director of customer and retail operations for Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield in northern Europe, said: “Boxing Day at Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City delivered a strong performance, with early indicators pointing to solid, broad-based trading across beauty and wellness, home and luxury.
“Visitors spent the day moving between shopping, dining and leisure, enjoying longer stays in our centres.
“The results highlight that while shopping remains central to Boxing Day, people increasingly see it as a full-day occasion, combining retail, dining and leisure rather than focusing on a single transaction.”
