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| Bumper Boxing Day crowds expected on UK’s ailing high streets | Bumper Boxing Day crowds expected on UK’s ailing high streets |
| (21 days later) | |
| Millions of Britons are expected to make their annual pilgrimage to the Boxing Day sales despite the event having been hijacked by last month’s Black Friday spree. | Millions of Britons are expected to make their annual pilgrimage to the Boxing Day sales despite the event having been hijacked by last month’s Black Friday spree. |
| Some of the country’s biggest shopping centres are predicting bumper crowds as retailers slash the price of winter clothing, homewares and household gadgets to make way for spring ranges. | Some of the country’s biggest shopping centres are predicting bumper crowds as retailers slash the price of winter clothing, homewares and household gadgets to make way for spring ranges. |
| Intu, which owns 17 malls in the UK including the Trafford Centre in Manchester and the Metrocentre in Gateshead, is expecting more than a million shoppers, while Westfield predicts more than 300,000 will visit its two London centres. | Intu, which owns 17 malls in the UK including the Trafford Centre in Manchester and the Metrocentre in Gateshead, is expecting more than a million shoppers, while Westfield predicts more than 300,000 will visit its two London centres. |
| “Some stores have been running promotions or discounting before Christmas but Boxing Day is when the clearance sales start in earnest,” said Intu’s operations director, Gordon McKinnon. “Retailers have to reduce prices – and sometimes significantly – to clear their autumn and winter stock and customers know that.” | “Some stores have been running promotions or discounting before Christmas but Boxing Day is when the clearance sales start in earnest,” said Intu’s operations director, Gordon McKinnon. “Retailers have to reduce prices – and sometimes significantly – to clear their autumn and winter stock and customers know that.” |
| Over the past decade there has been a seachange in consumer behaviour at this time of year, as the rise of online shopping – with retailers such as Marks & Spencer starting their sales on their websites as soon as shops close on Christmas Eve – is compounded by the decision to import the Black Friday discount bonanza from the US in 2012. | Over the past decade there has been a seachange in consumer behaviour at this time of year, as the rise of online shopping – with retailers such as Marks & Spencer starting their sales on their websites as soon as shops close on Christmas Eve – is compounded by the decision to import the Black Friday discount bonanza from the US in 2012. |
| By 2014, Black Friday, which takes place at the end of November, was fixed in the shopping calendar – but at the expense of Boxing Day, with one analyst likening its impact to a “tide surge” that sucks sales out of retailers’ tills in the weeks before and after the huge sales event. | By 2014, Black Friday, which takes place at the end of November, was fixed in the shopping calendar – but at the expense of Boxing Day, with one analyst likening its impact to a “tide surge” that sucks sales out of retailers’ tills in the weeks before and after the huge sales event. |
| While many struggling clothing brands resorted to cutting prices last month, the clearances of household names such as Next, John Lewis and Selfridges – which tend to hold back – are, thanks to the scale of the discounts on offer, still considered to be an event worth setting an alarm for. | While many struggling clothing brands resorted to cutting prices last month, the clearances of household names such as Next, John Lewis and Selfridges – which tend to hold back – are, thanks to the scale of the discounts on offer, still considered to be an event worth setting an alarm for. |
| There may still be pre-dawn queues outside Next and scuffles in luxury department stores but Springboard, which tracks shopper visits, predicts the number of Britons shopping on Boxing Day will be down 5.2%, which is on top of last year’s 4.5% drop. This is in keeping with a long-term trend in which footfall has declined in most years since 2008, with 27 December usually the bigger day in sales terms. | There may still be pre-dawn queues outside Next and scuffles in luxury department stores but Springboard, which tracks shopper visits, predicts the number of Britons shopping on Boxing Day will be down 5.2%, which is on top of last year’s 4.5% drop. This is in keeping with a long-term trend in which footfall has declined in most years since 2008, with 27 December usually the bigger day in sales terms. |
| “Post-Christmas shopping generally appears to be diminishing in importance,” said Diane Wehrle, the marketing and insights director at Springboard. “Footfall on Boxing Day has declined in five out of the past nine years, and the decline has become larger over the last two years. | “Post-Christmas shopping generally appears to be diminishing in importance,” said Diane Wehrle, the marketing and insights director at Springboard. “Footfall on Boxing Day has declined in five out of the past nine years, and the decline has become larger over the last two years. |
| “Modern families are complicated, so people may see the other side of their family on Boxing Day. It’s [in effect] a two-day Christmas but by the 27th, they have done all that and want to go out and do something else.” | “Modern families are complicated, so people may see the other side of their family on Boxing Day. It’s [in effect] a two-day Christmas but by the 27th, they have done all that and want to go out and do something else.” |
| There are fears that the Christmas trading period, when many chains make the bulk of their annual profits, may have been a poor one for retailers. This month, Mike Ashley, the Sports Direct boss, warned that weaker chains faced being “smashed to pieces” by a savage high-street downturn as Brexit worries put the brakes on spending. | There are fears that the Christmas trading period, when many chains make the bulk of their annual profits, may have been a poor one for retailers. This month, Mike Ashley, the Sports Direct boss, warned that weaker chains faced being “smashed to pieces” by a savage high-street downturn as Brexit worries put the brakes on spending. |
| “It’s not just that people are not visiting stores – they are not shopping as much as last year,” Wehrle said. “They are feeling very cautious. We’ve had a year when wage inflation has not kept pace with price inflation and a lot of debt has built up because people have not adjusted their spending.” | “It’s not just that people are not visiting stores – they are not shopping as much as last year,” Wehrle said. “They are feeling very cautious. We’ve had a year when wage inflation has not kept pace with price inflation and a lot of debt has built up because people have not adjusted their spending.” |
| Luxury stores in the West End of London are also expecting a leaner year despite the presence of high-spending tourists. Jace Tyrrell, the chief executive of New West End Company, predicts £50m will be spent on Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street on Boxing Day, down from last year’s £52m haul. | Luxury stores in the West End of London are also expecting a leaner year despite the presence of high-spending tourists. Jace Tyrrell, the chief executive of New West End Company, predicts £50m will be spent on Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street on Boxing Day, down from last year’s £52m haul. |
| “November was really tough, with sales down 4-5%, and in December we have seen heavy discounting already,” Tyrell said. “I think for visitors there is still the whole ‘coming out and doing the sales thing’, whereas savvy local shoppers can go online. | “November was really tough, with sales down 4-5%, and in December we have seen heavy discounting already,” Tyrell said. “I think for visitors there is still the whole ‘coming out and doing the sales thing’, whereas savvy local shoppers can go online. |
| “Boxing Day will never be what it was a decade ago, but there is still appetite from that customer who wants to go out and hunt for a bargain.” | “Boxing Day will never be what it was a decade ago, but there is still appetite from that customer who wants to go out and hunt for a bargain.” |
| Last week, official sales data showed online sales accounted for more than a fifth of spending for the first time in November, underlining the challenge faced by bricks-and-mortar retailers and shopping centre owners in an increasingly digital age. | Last week, official sales data showed online sales accounted for more than a fifth of spending for the first time in November, underlining the challenge faced by bricks-and-mortar retailers and shopping centre owners in an increasingly digital age. |
| However, McKinnon remains optimistic in the run-up to the big day. “There is a resilience in large shopping centres and people want to visit for that all round Christmas experience: the decorations, the choirs and bands, the festive stalls, rounding off with a meal or a drink. You can’t get that doing your shopping on a computer,” he said. | However, McKinnon remains optimistic in the run-up to the big day. “There is a resilience in large shopping centres and people want to visit for that all round Christmas experience: the decorations, the choirs and bands, the festive stalls, rounding off with a meal or a drink. You can’t get that doing your shopping on a computer,” he said. |
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