Data from Sensormatic’s footfall index, which captures 40billion shopper visits globally each year, showed that yesterday, ‘Frenzied Friday’ (23 December), retail footfall climbed +49.7% week-on-week, as shoppers sought to beat Royal Mail strike disruption and overwhelmed courier companies to finalise their Christmas shopping.

With data from VoucherCodes suggesting an estimated £1.55billion was spent in-store yesterday, Sensormatic’s footfall index showed shopper counts across all UK retail settings rose +51.3% year-on-year as shoppers looked to wrap up last-minute Christmas gift buying.  

Glasgow was the UK’s last-minute gift-buying capital yesterday, with footfall surging +80.6% week-on-week, followed by Edinburgh – up +63.7% compared to the Friday prior.  Other destination shopping hubs, including London and Manchester, also saw festive footfall flurries, with shopper traffic rising +45.7% and +36.2% respectively.

Andy Sumpter, EMEA Retail Consultant at Sensormatic Solutions, commented:

“We’ve seen shopper traffic build and build as we’ve headed towards Christmas in what will have been a welcome boost to retailers.  Despite fears the cost-of-living crisis might take the shine off Christmas trading, consumer demand has proved more resilient than hoped, and shoppers have been hitting the High Street in force.”

Sensormatic’s footfall data also showed that shopper counts in ‘panic week’ – Monday 19 December to Friday 23 December – were up +15% compared to the same period in 2021.