High street footfall collapses pre-Christmas
- Published: 21 December 2007 10:07
- Author: Jessica Price Brown
- More by this Author
- Last Updated: 21 December 2007 12:47
- Reader Responses
The number of people out Christmas shopping this week has plummeted according to figures from Footfall.
Although retailers saw a boost in the number of shoppers last weekend, on Tuesday footfall was down 5.9% against the same day the previous year while Wednesday fell back further by 8.7% against last year.
Footfall said that preliminary figures for yesterday also indicated a fall.
A spokesman for Experian, which owns the Footfall company, said: "The festive mood amongst shoppers trailed off after Monday and by Tuesday activity on the high street began to lull. This weekend will be critical for those retailers who have failed to keep footfall flowing through their stores throughout the month."
"However, falling footfall does not necessarily equate to falling sales. Channel choice is becoming more and more diverse, so while consumers may not be making as many regular shopping trips to their local high street they still have the power the spend in big bursts during shopping centre visits or via online channels," he added.
"With online ordering deadlines passing and time running out for big destination centre trips, all eyes will be on the high street this weekend, with the hope being that the additional trading day on Monday will mean it's not another silent night for retailers."
