Footfall update: Traffic to go up by 10 per cent this week

Retailers can expect a big rise in shopper numbers as the closing of the postal deadline has pushed all Christmas shopping from mail order and the internet and on to the high street.

Shopper traffic specialist Footfall is predicting a week-on-week rise in shopper numbers out on the streets by 10 per cent this week. The research house is predicting year-on-year traffic to rise this week by 1 per cent to 2 per cent.

Footfall director of marketing and strategy David Smyth said: 'Retailers can be somewhat optimistic for the final frantic days ahead. They are perfectly poised for the onslaught of shopping as online delivery deadlines pass and the school holidays begin.'

Footfall's predictions are on the optimistic side of a spread of forecasts from analysts, who generally believe this week's trading figures will be good, but not good enough to make a positive impact on end-of-year figures. One analyst predicted this could be retailers' worst Christmas for 25 years.