Christmas might not have come early for retail but it is at least coming, with footfall predicted to soar over the last weekend before the big day.

Busy high street at Christmas time

Source: Getty Images/iStock/Jason Batterham

Footfall is expected to increase at all retail destinations over the ‘super weekend’

Footfall across the UK was up 7.5% on Thursday, December 19, across all retail destinations – led by a 10.8% surge across high street destinations compared to 2023.

Much of the footfall boost occurred in the evening, when the year-on-year jump was 16.7%, according to the latest footfall data by MRI Software.

All regions enjoyed a strong boost in footfall, after a slow start to the golden quarter, with Greater London leading the charge with a jump of 27.1%.

Footfall was up 19.1% in retail parks compared to the previous week and 16.8% higher in shopping centres, “suggesting the great rush is well and truly underway and will only increase” across the weekend, according to MRI.

MRI predicted that, based on historical trends, footfall on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (December 20-22) will typically be 25% to 35% higher in shopping centres and retail parks compared to the week before and between 11% and 15% higher on high streets.

Westfield said it is expecting to welcome at least 550,000 customers to its shopping centres over the “super weekend”, adding that “this year we anticipate strong performance across dining, competitive socialising and leisure”. The company said retail categories such as “health and beauty, fashion and tech will be firm favourites for those shopping last minute gifts”.

With Christmas falling on a Wednesday, momentum will carry into Monday and Tuesday, with many grocers predicting December 23 will be their busiest day of the year.

Retail and footfall analyst Diane Wehrle predicted a 1.8% increase in total Christmas sales to £86.4bn. She added: “The Budget compounded already depleting consumer confidence and for many consumers, this will be a cautious Christmas.”

While Peel Hunt analyst John Stevenson did not expect retail to shoot the lights out, he said “steady is fine” for a battled retail sector.

“We anticipate that after another challenging year, with more reasons to be cheerful in 2025, a steady Christmas securing 7% profit growth will be more than welcome,” he said.

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