More positive news on Christmas retail. Super Saturday (21 December) saw a welcome 0.8% year-on-year rise in UK footfall as early Boxing Day discounting helped drive last-minute Christmas shoppers into store, according to Sensormatic Solutions.

Meanwhile, retail sales were expected to have reached £1.46 billion on Saturday as the high street was hit by a last-minute festive shopping frenzy, according to VouncherCodes data. Some 16 million Britons were expected to have shopped, with 12.6 million heading to the high street, up 6.6% versus the same day in 2023.

According to Sensormatic’s ShopperTrak Analytics insights platform, which claims to capture 40 billion store visits globally a year, footfall on the Saturday also increased 4.1% week-on-week, as shoppers scrambled to pick up last-minute gifts, Christmas essentials. That supports data from footfall experts MRI Software.

Tipped as the busiest in-store shopping day of ‘Peak Trading 2024’, Super Saturday saw shopper counts improve with UK consumer spending set to top £13.3 billion in the nine days leading up to 25 December, according to Vouchercodes.

Andy Sumpter, Sensormatic Solutions’ EMEA Retail Consultant, commented: “One of the highest-stakes shopping days of Christmas, Super Saturday delivered a frenzy of festive footfall to retailers. However, while welcome, the jury’s still out as to whether the final flurries of Christmas trade will be enough to reverse this month’s footfall deficit – currently tracking at -3.6% compared to the same point in 2023 – after a sluggish start to December. 

“This may be why we’ve seen a growing number of retailers bringing forward discounts that would have traditionally been reserved for Boxing Day in a bid to boost demand and drive sales pre-Christmas.”
 
Footfall is also expected to continue to climb into this week, with ‘Manic Monday’ (23 December), the last full shopping day before Christmas, set to be the second busiest footfall day for physical retailers as consumers finalise festive gifting and last-minute purchases.

VoucherCode’s senior commercial director Michael Brandy added: “Following the trend of the last week, sales are set to be pretty healthy today as consumers rush to stock up on their last-minute Christmas essentials. 

“With just hours to go until the big day, consumers are short on time and money so offering convenience and genuine value will be the key to securing those last few festive sales. By offering these things as well as top-quality customer service, retailers can boost their margins and build loyalty that lasts into the New Year.”