Footfall has found that shopper traffic on the Saturday before Christmas, dubbed ‘Panic Saturday’, was down by 4.03 per cent year-on-year. The retail intelligence company said that the decrease was a result of late delivery options online.
Footfall expects footfall to increase by 2.5 per cent year-on-year on Monday 21st December, or ‘Panic Monday’. The busiest day for shopper traffic is set to be on Tuesday 22nd December, up 54 per cent on the daily average and 2.2 per cent year-on-year, Footfall has said.
“We expect the Panic Monday shift – when consumers abandon online shopping and take to the streets, in a bid to ensure they tick off all the final gifts on their Christmas lists – to be even more pronounced this year,” said Steve Richardson, UK regional director at Footfall.
He added: “As Christmas falls on a Friday, there have only been three Mondays in December 2015, whereas the past three years (2012 – 2014) had four Mondays, making the shift to in-store shopping even more marked. What’s more, as consumers might choose to take off a few days ahead of Christmas, this could also mean we see more shopper traffic on the High Street and in shopping centres, as consumers feel they aren’t reliant on online shopping alone.”
