Bargain hunters flocked to Britain’s high streets in greater numbers this Boxing Day than last, with crowds of shoppers in central London returning to pre-pandemic levels for the first time.
Full-day footfall was up by 4% compared with 26 December 2022 on a national level, according to figures from the retail analysts MRI Software, improving on initial estimates at midday of a 1.4% increase. On high streets the picture was even better, with a full-day rise of 8.8% year on year.
Central London registered the most noteworthy improvement. The capital’s famous shopping streets welcomed nearly 11% more people than last year and even managed a 1.6% increase compared with 2019, as visitors combined retail therapy with leisure activities.
Overall, UK shopping areas registered lower footfall than on the last Boxing Day before the pandemic, with numbers down by 4.5% on high streets and by nearly 15% nationally.
The biggest drop-off since Covid-19 has been felt in retail parks and shopping centres, where numbers have fallen by about a quarter since 2019.
Footfall graph
Jenni Matthews, the marketing and insights director at MRI Software, said the long-term trend of lower footfall reflected the long-term impact of online shopping, with many consumers starting their bargain-hunting online as early as the evening of Christmas Day.
“We also can’t forget that many people may be tightening their purse strings given the cost of living status, or may still be spending time with their families on Boxing Day and not be heading out to stores and destinations until later in the week.”
Some of the footfall that high street shops might have expected may also have been absorbed by Black Friday, the annual event in which retailers drop their prices dramatically to lure people into spending more overall in search of bargains. Black Friday took place closer to Christmas this year than it normally does.
Matthews added that the particularly strong revival in central London could be down to the volume of festive events and attractions bringing in tourists and people from out of town.
MRI Software measures the number of shoppers on the streets at nearly 2,800 “counting points” on high streets and at retail parks and shopping centres.
