Footfall slows after Black Friday boost

Footfall across UK retail destinations dropped by 0.9% post Black Friday, according to the latest retail figures from Springboard.

In the week between 8 December and 14 December, footfall faced an annual decline of 5%, in line with the “lull” in trading that Springboard anticipated for the period.

These latest findings mark a sharp contrast to the same week last year, where footfall rose 3.4% from the previous week, and only declined by 0.1% on an annual level. 

However, Springboard believes that this distinction is owed to the success of this year’s Black Friday, where footfall rose by 3.3%, compared to last year’s decline of 5.4% during the event.

The boost of Black Friday this year “effectively removed the head of steam that had built for Christmas shopping”.

Now, Springboard anticipates that footfall will see a steady rise after this week’s lull, with a 5% growth in footfall predicted between this week and the next. Annual footfall is set to only fall by 0.9%.

It also predicts that ‘Super Saturday’ will bring a peak in footfall, with figures 10% higher on Saturday 21 December compared to the previous week. 

There should also be an annual increase of 3% on Super Saturday, according to Springboard’s predictions, another distinction from last year’s annual drop of 4.4% on the same day.  

Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard, said: “We are not surprised that footfall has not increased over the last week, as it follows a Black Friday success that confounded expectations.  

“Consumers clearly took advantage of early discounts to purchase Christmas presents, and are now waiting for discounts to deepen once again in the days immediately before Christmas as retailers do their best to shift unsold stock.”   

She added: “Super Saturday is once again expected to be the peak Christmas trading day, although with Monday and Tuesday still offering consumers opportunities to purchase last minute gifts, its success will be more muted than if Christmas were landing on Monday or Tuesday when purchasing opportunities post Saturday would be more limited.”