Early evidence of the performance of retail in the final full week of trading in the run up to Christmas will have done little to lift the spirits of retailers.
Whilst footfall into stores rose by +14.9% from the week before, this rise was not nearly enough to deliver an annual increase in the number of customers, which was -11.4% lower than in the same week in 2023.
Even on Super Saturday – the final Saturday before Christmas Day which is typically the peak shopping day of the year – footfall was only +4.1% higher than on Saturday 14th December, and virtually flat on 23rd December 2023 with a rise of just +0.9%.
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These results follow negative annual performance over the previous two weeks following the week of Black Friday that averaged -3.1%.
With footfall +5.5% higher than 2023 during the Black Friday week, and spending in towns and cities on Black Friday itself +14.5% higher than on Black Friday 2023, it demonstrates that consumers took the opportunity of discounting for gift purchasing.
Diane Wehrle, CEO, Rendle Intelligence and Insights said, “The disappointing results, which come on the same day that we have learnt that the economy failed to grow between July and September, clearly reflect the ongoing cost pressures faced by households following a prolonged period of very high inflation.
“It appears this Christmas has been disastrous for retail, and a bad omen for 2025.”
