Shoppers shunning High Street, early Boxing Day figures show

Boxing Day shoppers are staying away from the High Street and shopping centres, compared with last year, initial footfall data suggests.

Data gathered by MRI Software shows morning footfall on UK high streets is down 10.2% on 2023, while shopping centres have seen a 13.9% fall in visitors, as of 12:00 GMT.

The provisional figures are an early sign that online shopping continues to dominate the traditional Boxing Day sales.

Although many shops are still expected to see brisk trade on Thursday, major retailers such as John Lewis, M&S and Next have chosen not to open the majority of their stores, saying they wanted to give their staff a break over the festive period.

Another shopper in Liverpool, Dave, joked that while he would not generally be out shopping on Boxing Day, he had made a deal with his wife.

"I'll go shopping with her and she'll come to the Liverpool match with me," he said.

UK retail parks, which often offer free parking and are more suited to bigger shops, fared slightly better, seeing only a 6.8% fall in visits compared with last year.

In many ways Boxing Day is no longer a major shopping event in itself, as it was in the past.

Many retailers begin their sales online on Christmas Eve and brands are also spreading promotions throughout the year, including around Black Friday in November.

"Boxing Day has lost its shine", said Natalie Berg from NBK Retail, who suggested the decision by major retailers to remain closed could help them with recruitment.

The expert also argued shoppers had "promotion fatigue".

"When you consider that some Black Friday deals began on Halloween this year, which is the earliest I've ever seen, it's no surprise that we're all shopped out by Boxing Day," she said.

Diane Wehrle, analyst at Rendle Intelligence and Insights, said that amongst those who do choose to visit places on Boxing Day, the emphasis has shifted to spending on things to do, rather than things to buy.

She added that shopping habits have been changing for more than a decade as more consumers choose to shop online.

Barclays, which says it sees nearly 40% of the nation's credit and debit card transactions, forecasts that Brits are set to spend a combined total of £4.6bn on Boxing Day, compared with £4.7bn spent in 2023.

It says it expects the lion's share of spending to be online - similar to 2023, when 63.9% of Boxing Day retail purchases were online, according to the bank's data.