Boxing Day failed to bring a traditional sales-fueled festive boost for brick-and-mortar retailers, preliminary figures showed on Thursday.
According to MRI Software, footfall across Britain’s high streets had dropped by 9.6% year on year come Thursday evening, while shopping centres faced a 5.1% drop.
Online shopping channels were likely to have dominated once again as retailers looked to draw consumers in with the traditional post-Christmas sales.
However, overall activity fell by 7.6% across all UK retail destinations, dampening hopes for an uptick after wider economic pressures have hit shops recently.
Physical shops looked to have faced a sharp drop in footfall against historic levels too, with the figures showing in-store visits down 20.5% against pre-pandemic levels.
Jenni Matthews, of MRI Software, noted this year’s decline marked a “major contrast” to 2023’s Boxing Day, which saw footfall increase.
“This could be reflective of the shift in consumer behaviour influenced by the ongoing cost-of-living crisis,” she commented.