U.K. Boxing Day Store Visits Drop as Sunday Holiday Limits Shopping Hours
Fewer U.K. consumers visited stores yesterday and others sought discounts online, as shorter Sunday shopping hours kept Britons away on what is traditionally considered the biggest shopping day of the year.
Shopper numbers fell by 20 percent Dec. 26, or “Boxing Day,” compared with the same day a year earlier, market researcher Experian Group Ltd. said today in a statement on its Internet site, even as retailers slashed prices to boost sales. Footfall is set to remain at “high levels” today and tomorrow, the company said.
“Today and tomorrow will be busy as there are more shopping hours, the sales are still on and people will perceive it to be a little less busy than yesterday,” said Jordan Byrnes, a spokesman for Experian.
Some consumers opted to seek out bargains online over the holiday weekend. John Lewis Partnership Plc sales rose 45 percent online on Christmas Day after the retailer started a sale on its website at 5 p.m. on Dec. 24. House of Fraser Ltd. started its Internet sale at midday on Dec. 24, and its online revenue soared nearly 150 percent on Christmas Day as shoppers snapped up items discounted up to 50 percent.
Shoppers will buy ahead of an increase in value-added taxes on Jan. 4, Experian said today. The U.K.’s value-added tax rate will rise to 20 percent from 17.5 percent. Consumers may have more cash than usual to spend after the holiday, having stayed away from shopping streets before Christmas because of freezing temperatures and heavy snow. Shopper numbers rose 2.2 percent on Dec. 23 and 1.3 percent on Dec. 24 after declining 11 percent in the three days through Dec. 22, according to Experian.
‘Expected to Flock’
“Boxing Day shoppers are expected to flock to London’s West End” today, according to New West End Co., the representative body for London’s busy Oxford Street shopping area. Some stores will be opening for up to 16 hours to compensate for the restrictive Sunday trading hours on Boxing Day, it said.
Shops may also see sales from gift cards increasing as recipients seek more items for their money in post-Christmas sales. Sales of the cards over the Christmas period rose 20 percent compared with 2009 at Kent’s Bluewater shopping center, according to Andrew Parkinson, the general manager.
“Retailers are reporting that an unprecedented number of gift cards have gone through the tills,” said Jace Tyrrell, a spokesman for New West End Co. in a e-mail yesterday.
‘Big Ticket Items’
Bluewater shopping center anticipates more than 900,000 visitors in search of bargains in the period from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, it said yesterday in an e-mailed statement, as customers seek to treat themselves to discounted clothing and cosmetics.
“We are also anticipating higher than usual sales of ‘big ticket’ items like 3D televisions, as shoppers rush to avoid the VAT increase,” Parkinson commented.
About two-thirds of retailers predict a decline in business in 2011, according to a survey by the British Retail Consortium.
“They believe the VAT rise will contribute to higher prices and, with fears about government cuts and the wider economy, people will be put off spending,” Stephen Robertson, director general of the BRC, said in a statement.
Retailers may have more inventory to discount this year because of the drop in shopper numbers before Christmas.
“Fully recouping lost sales looks highly unlikely,” Singer Capital analyst Matthew McEachran said on Dec. 21. “Most retailers will bear some mark-down pressures as a result of the lost sales and those that break ranks and panic will clearly create disorder for those who are more disciplined.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Shannon in London at sshannon4@bloomberg.net.
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