UK Christmas shopping numbers down 21%
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The number of shoppers visiting UK stores on Western Christmas Eve, December 24, fell significantly compared to 2022. As he writes The Guardian citing data from analytics company MRI Software, the number of store visitors yesterday was 20.6% less than on Christmas Eve 2022, and 6.8% less than the week before. Sales were also about a third lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic on Christmas Eve 2019. Compared to the previous week, traffic to stores in city centers especially decreased – by almost 15%, while traffic to shopping centers decreased by only 3%.
According to experts, this decrease in traffic is due to the fact that the day before Christmas fell on a Sunday, when most stores are open until 17:00, as well as the rising cost of living. “Compared to 2019 levels, attendance remains down by at least a third. Several factors contribute to this: today stores operate on a Sunday schedule, which limits retail trade; in addition, this year many were affected by the crisis in the standard of living, so many decided to spread the costs and started shopping earlier,” says the head of MRI Software’s marketing division and analyst Jenny Matthews.
Analysts predictthat in the United States, store traffic in the pre-Christmas days – Saturday and Sunday – will be a record this year.
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