Shoppers shunning High Street, early Boxing Day figures show

Boxing Day shoppers are staying distant from the High Street and buying centres, compared with past year, aboriginal footfall information suggests.

Data gathered by MRI Software shows aboriginal greeting footfall connected UK precocious streets is down 12.3% connected 2023, portion buying centres person seen a 13.9% autumn successful visitors, earlier 10:00 GMT.

The provisional figures are an aboriginal motion that online buying continues to predominate the accepted Boxing Day sales.

Although galore shops are inactive expected to spot brisk commercialized connected Thursday, large retailers specified arsenic John Lewis, M&S and Next person chosen not to unfastened the bulk of their stores, saying they wanted to springiness their unit a interruption implicit the festive period.

Overall Boxing Day enactment levels are down 10.6% crossed each UK retail destinations, arsenic astatine 10:00, compared to 26 December past year.

Analysts person told BBC News that bricks-and-mortar stores are becoming little profitable arsenic they are costly to support unfastened owed to rising vigor costs and, for some, Bank Holiday overtime wage for staff.

Online shops are cheaper to run and mostly person less overheads.

MRI Software's Jenni Matthews said a year-on-year emergence successful footfall is anticipated from 27 December.

She said that, contempt the aboriginal data, it was expected that galore shoppers would "emerge from their post-Christmas slumber looking to replenish their groceries and spot what Boxing Day bargains are available".

The institution volition merchandise much footfall information later.

The information truthful acold suggests in-store visits are astir 50% beneath pre-pandemic levels.

UK retail parks, which often connection escaped parking and are much suited to bigger shops, fared flimsy better, seeing lone a 3.3% autumn successful visits compared with past year.

In galore ways Boxing Day is nary longer a large buying lawsuit successful itself, arsenic it was successful the past.

Many retailers statesman their income online connected Christmas Eve and brands are besides spreading promotions passim the year, including astir Black Friday successful November.

Meanwhile, the outgo of surviving continues to compression household budgets.

Sales volumes successful covering stores precocious fell to their lowest level since January 2022, according to ONS figures.

Diane Wehrle, expert astatine Rendle Intelligence and Insights, said that amongst those who bash take to sojourn places connected Boxing Day, the accent has shifted to spending connected things to do, alternatively than things to buy.

She added that buying habits person been changing for much than a decennary arsenic much consumers take to store online.

Barclays, which says it sees astir 40% of the nation's recognition and debit paper transactions, forecasts that Brits are acceptable to walk a combined full of £4.6bn connected Boxing Day, compared with £4.7bn spent successful 2023.

It says it expects the lion's stock of spending to beryllium online - akin to 2023, erstwhile 63.9% of Boxing Day retail purchases were online, according to the bank's data.