UK Boxing Day footfall plummets, as online spending soars

UK shoppers are expected to spend a record 1.9 billion pounds online on Boxing Day, the biggest online shopping day of the year.

In 2019 shoppers spent 1.2 billion pounds online on Christmas Day while on Boxing Day 4.3 billion pounds was spent in High Streets and online. Except this year much of the high street remains closed.

Footfall plummets

Figures from Springboard show Boxing Day has seen an overall decline in footfall across all UK retail destination of -60 percent up to 12pm compared to Boxing Day in 2019. Footfall in Tier 4, where all non-essential retail stores are closed, was 77.3 percent lower than Boxing Day last year

As covid-19 continues to exacerbate, and more severe government restrictions were introduced across the UK, the detrimental impact on retail stores and destinations is obvious. Even in Tiers 2 and 3 - where non-essential retail remains open - footfall was significantly lower than on Boxing Day last year (-38.2 percent lower in Tier 2 and -42.5 percent lower in Tier 3) as Brit’s stay home to stay safe.

8.1 million shoppers are expected to go online over the Christmas and Boxing Day period, for a total high street and online spend of 3.2 billion pounds. While physical retail sales are set to fall, online spending will increase by 56 percent.

Photo: Knightsbridge via Pexels