Shoppers preferred Friday to Christmas eve, says FootFall |
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Tue, 27 Dec 2005 08:05
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LONDON: It's been disappointment for retailers this Christmas eve as the expected last minute rush to the stores came a cropper, according to market watchers. Although, it was Saturday, the number of shoppers on the high streets was almost 18 per cent less compared with Christmas eve last year, according to market tracking agency FootFall.
FootFall said shoppers had opted to buy things on Friday, which became a boom day for the retailers. FootFall's marketing manager Natasha Burton said the number of shoppers on Friday was 18.9 per cent more compared with the same day last year. This offset a 4 per fall in the previous days, she said.
The agency is still to assess whether the number had given real business to retailers.
Some of the stores echoed FootFall's conclusions. A spokesperson for Kent shopping centre Bluewater said Christmas eve had been quieter than Friday, except for a brief spell of activity mid-afternoon. Stores like House of Fraser and Marks & Spencer had good sales, so was the Apple store, according to him.
SPSL, which also monitors customer traffic, said while the Christmas eve had been leaner compared to Friday, it had been busier than last year. SPSL's Dr Tim Denison said the final days before Christmas have been a “win-win result for shoppers and retailers alike”. He said the number of shoppers last week were up about 25 per cent on the same days of the previous week, the peak day being Friday.
A spokesperson for the British Retail Consortium said the whole Christmas period had been better than expected for the high streets.
According to research agency TNS, Britons are estimated to have spent 3.3 billion pounds on groceries alone in last week, which marks a 17 per cent increase compared with last year.
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