Retail solutions provider Sensormatic Solutions has released the annual ShopperTrak predictions of the top five busiest UK shopper traffic days for peak trading 2019.
With more than 1.5 million data collection devices in the retail marketplace, ShopperTrak captures 40 billion shopper visits each year.
Top five predicted UK busiest shopping days
Super Saturday (21 December), the last Saturday trading day before Christmas, is again set to be the busiest festive shopping day. Last year Super Saturday represented a £1.4bn sales opportunity for UK retailers. In fact, it saw footfall on the high street surge by 45% on the daily average.
Black Friday (29 November) itself doesn’t rank in the top five busiest days. However, 30 November (Saturday after Black Friday) is expected to be the second busiest shopping day of the Christmas period. This demonstrates the continued importance of the discount day in driving in-store footfall and building momentum into the peak season.
Historical analysis also suggests that with only three Saturdays in December before Christmas, footfall in-store on these days will be more pronounced; accounting for Saturday 14 December and Saturday 7 December making the top 5 busiest days at 3rd and 4th place respectively.
Boxing Day will remain a key date in the Christmas retail calendar for 2019
Last year Brits spent £4.75 billion in Boxing Day sales, with every 3 in 4 pounds spent in-store. Boxing Day (26 December ) falls on a Thursday this year. The prediction, therefore, is that the peak in shopper traffic will take place the following day; shoppers taking an extra day off to extend the Christmas break can also shop or return gifts.
Commenting on the data is Nick Pompa, global general manager at ShopperTrak. “The top shopping days of Christmas represent a key sales opportunity for UK retailers; it’s clear that the physical store remains critical to Golden Quarter success. The imperative is on retailers to prioritise in-store customer engagement during this critical trading period to drive sales, customer retention and brand sentiment.”
