Retailers to get £3.31 billion festive boost this ‘Panic Weekend’

With just 12 days to go until Christmas, Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 December have been dubbed ‘Panic Weekend’ as shoppers are forecast to spend £3.31 billion on last minute gifts, food and drink – up 15.3% year-on-year.

The new ‘Shopping for Christmas Report: The build up to Christmas and Boxing Day sales’ by VoucherCodes.co.uk (prepared by GlobalData), predicts that 38 million people will shop in-store and online over the weekend.

It expects ‘Super Saturday’ to drive £1.76 billion in sales, making it the most lucrative day in the run up to Christmas. Additionally, ‘Stampede Sunday’ is set to see £1.55 billion spent over the day.

‘Super Saturday’ is usually the last Saturday before Christmas Eve, however, with the way Christmas falls this year the statistics show that Saturday 16 December will be the more lucrative day for retailers, as opposed to Saturday 23 December.

Sales on Saturday 23 December are forecast to be significantly lower at £1.37 billion. Forecast shopper numbers also supports this, with 19.5 million people set to shop on Saturday 16 compared to just 15 million on Saturday 23 December.

Some 12.7 million people are forecast to hit the high street on ‘Super Saturday’, spending £1.15 billion (+19% year-on-year), and a further 6.8 million consumers will shop online, spending £0.61 billion.

When it comes to ‘Stampede Sunday’, 10.3 million Brits are forecast to spend £0.86 billion in stores. A further 8.2 million people will shop online from the comfort of their homes, spending £0.68 billion.

Michael Brandy, Senior Commercial Director at VoucherCodes.co.uk, said: "This year has been particularly tough for retailers so it’s great to see there’s going to be one more boost to sales before the end of the year.

"With sales forecast to increase by 15.3% year-on-year and customer numbers set to increase by 10.5% over the weekend, both online and offline retailers should brace themselves for a last minute festive rush.

"To see the biggest rewards over ‘Panic Weekend’, retailers should prioritise convenience and value above all else. Consumers only have a few days left before Christmas to pick up their festive essentials, so by putting popular gifts, food and drink in pride of place and offering discounts on these items, retailers will be able to encourage extra sales and create a loyal customer base."