‘Super Saturday’ footfall slips as consumers hold back for last-minute deals
UK footfall dropped 6.9% year-on-year on ‘Super Saturday’, 20 December, the last Saturday before Christmas.
What was expected to be the busiest day for store footfall of the entire peak trading season saw “consumer hesitancy and hope of late deals” delay spending.
Footfall yesterday, Sunday 21 December, dropped even further compared to the equivalent Sunday last year by 7.2%, though it was up 9.3% week-on-week.
While footfall performance failed to reach 2024 levels, Super Saturday still delivered a 1.5% week-on-week boost to store traffic, while footfall in the week preceding Super Saturday rose 11.2%, according to the latest data from Sensormatic Solutions ShopperTrak Analytics.
Retail parks benefited the most from Super Saturday, delivering a marked uptick of 10.9% in footfall compared to the previous week.
Spending hesitancy is expected to push festive demand “to the wire” with the peak in footfall landing in the final few days before Christmas. Tomorrow, 23 December, is expected to be the third busiest in-store shopping day of peak trading as retailers brace for the last-minute rush.
Andy Sumpter, EMEA Retail Consultant at Sensormatic Solutions, said: “As one of the ‘make or break’ days of Christmas trading, soft footfall performance on Super Saturday will have dealt a blow to retailers who would have been hoping to capitalise on trade.”
“Throughout this year’s festive trading season, we’ve seen consumer caution cause spending hesitancy and upend usual demand patterns. Shoppers are taking longer to validate purchases, with many still holding out and hoping that retailers may bring forward Boxing Day promotions pre-Christmas, as they did last year.
“We expect the usual last-minute rush to be particularly pronounced, with shoppers leaving purchasing right up to the wire.”
Sumpter also noted that Boxing Day has “seen some migration online in recent years”, but is still expected to be the fourth busiest day for footfall of peak trading.
