Boxing day sales double last year but footfall drags below pre-Covid levels

26 December 2022, 18:00 | Updated: 26 December 2022, 18:05

The number of shoppers heading to the Boxing Day sales jumped by over 50% compared to last year, but footfall remains well below levels seen before the pandemic.

Boxing Day sales have jumped by over 50% compared to last year, but footfall remains well below levels seen before the pandemic.

Shopper tracking agency Springboard says Covid-19 was a "key reason" for the resurgence from 2021 numbers, when the Omicron variant of the virus was spreading and some coronavirus curbs were still in effect.

The company added that good weather seen in some areas tempted out to do some post-Christmas shopping.

However, numbers remain well below 2019, and it's expected shoppers will spend less because of the increased cost of living.

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Compared to the Boxing Day three years ago, before Covid hit, footfall is down over 30%.

Springboard added that this year's figures may have been helped by the fact that the holiday fell on a Sunday last year, when many shops took the decision to remain shut or were operating with reduced trading hours.

Diane Wehrle, insights director at retail analyst Springboard, told the BBC that though the data was "encouraging" for retailers, it's clear that rising living costs are having an impact, adding the drop since 2019 was "attached obviously to the cost of living crisis".

"People are dealing with that," she said, "so a lot of people may rail back on going out on Boxing Day and spending money they perhaps don't need to spend."

Ms Wehrle pointed to the growing importance of the 27 December for retailers, and said it could actually turn out to be a more important shopping day than boxing day.

"While some stores may not be open today, they will reopen on the 27th and that's an important trading day, and perhaps that is actually starting to grow in importance," she said.

The agency said that despite industrial action on the railways today, central London footfall - which has been hardest hit by the disruption - saw the sharpest rise for any area in the UK, rising by over 139% compared to last year.

However, shoppers may be looking to tighten their purse-strings this year, separate research suggests.

Barclaycard predicts that the average person will spend £18 less this year, and part with £229 in the post-Christmas sales.

The credit card firm by Barclaycard found that, in a survey of 2,000 would-be shoppers, 42% said their spending would be tempered by the higher cost of living, with many of those saying they would spend less in the Christmas sales compared to previous years.

Inflation hit 10.7% in November, which was lower the previous month, but is still the highest rate for 40 years.

Dr Sarah Montano, retail expert and senior lecturer of marketing at the University of Birmingham, told the oulet: "For many consumers, obviously they would've been shopping pre-Christmas, as we had the Black Friday sales and things like that.

"As we move into the new year, we expect consumers to be a bit cautious because of course, the heating bills will still be to come for consumers and that will impact on their discretionary spending."

Harshna Cayley, head of online payments at Barclaycard Payments, told the BBC: "The rising cost of living and inflationary pressures have naturally had an impact on the amount being spent in the post-Christmas sales this year.

"Having said that, retailers can take confidence knowing that shoppers still plan to make the most of the deals and discounts on offer."