UK retailers enjoy Frenzied Friday as shoppers complete Christmas gift buying

Frenzied Friday (23rd December) saw UK retail footfall climb +49.7% week-on-week, as shoppers sought to beat Royal Mail strike disruption and overwhelmed courier companies to finalise their Christmas shopping.

That’s according to Sensormatic’s footfall index, which captures 40 billion shopper visits globally each year.

With research from VoucherCodes suggesting an estimated £1.55 billion was spent in-store yesterday, Sensormatic’s footfall index showed shopper counts across all UK retail settings rose +51.3% year-on-year.

Glasgow was the UK’s last minute gift-buying capital yesterday, with footfall surging +80.6% week-on-week, followed by Edinburgh – up +63.7% compared to the Friday prior. 

Other destination shopping hubs, including London and Manchester, were busy with shopper traffic rising +45.7% and +36.2% respectively.

Andy Sumpter, EMEA Retail Consultant at Sensormatic Solutions, comments: “We’ve seen shopper traffic build and build as we’ve headed towards Christmas in what will have been a welcome boost to retailers. “

“Despite fears the cost-of-living crisis might take the shine off Christmas trading, consumer demand has proved more resilient than hoped, and shoppers have been hitting the high street in force.”

Sensormatic’s data also showed that shopper counts in ‘panic week’ – Monday, 19th December to Friday, 23rd December – were up +15% compared to the same period in 2021.