Retailers have experienced a surge in shoppers eager to take advantage of the post-Christmas sales, following disappointing festive takings, according to new figures.
The research, by monitoring company Footfall, revealed that last weekend saw a five per cent increase in the number of shoppers compared with the same period last year.
However, the rise in the number of consumers keen to get a bargain on the high street has been tempered by sluggish sales in the pre-Christmas period.
In a trend that was also experienced last year, many customers left their festive shopping to the last moment, to take advantage of falling prices.
The resulting last minute rush put a strain on many small retailers who do not have the resources to cope with the extra workload so close to Christmas Day.
Despite this, Footfall’s figures round off a generally healthy year of retail sales in the UK, with high street spending remaining consistent despite the economic downturn.
The summer heatwave lead to record-breaking takings for many firms, and although sales dipped in the autumn, consumer spending has been lauded as the ‘driving force’ of the British economy by analysts
David Smyth, of Footfall, said that the three days before Christmas had been “manic”.
“It could have been shoppers were taking advantage of the sales which had started in many places/
“It’s almost as if people are saying ‘I don’t need to be the first in the shops for the sales after Christmas’ and left it later to start,” he said.
