Many shoppers might wonder how to avoid the Christmas shopping frenzy. MRI Software, the leader in real estate software, has been tracking retail footfall data historically and has found that the first Thursday of December (December 5ththis year) is the quietest for shopping.
Shoppers are ‘warned’ to definitely avoid December 23rd if they are after a quiet shopping experience, as this has historically been the busiest day for Christmas shopping.
Jenni Matthews, Marketing & Insights Director at MRI Software, comments:
“Retail footfall trends from MRI Software reveal from 1st to 7th December last year, footfall dropped year on year by -9.3% in high streets, -4.7% in shopping centres, and -1.3% in retail parks. Thursday December 7th 2023 saw the largest decline (-14.1% for high street, -11.1% for shopping centres, and -6.1% for Retail Parks). Rail strikes may well have contributed to this however when compared against pre-pandemic times (2019 vs 2018), footfall levels declined marginally by -0.2% in high streets, -0.9% in shopping centres, but rose by +1.2% in retail parks. This suggests that early December and the first Thursday of December, in particular, might be an ideal time for consumers to consider hitting the shops for their festive purchases to beat the crowds.
“As the month progressed, shopping centres and retail parks experienced a lull in activity typically in the final working week before Christmas (from Monday 18th to Thursday 21st December) with footfall falling year on year by an average of -8.5% and -4.7%, respectively. High streets saw a marginal drop of -1.9% suggesting this could be a second window during the month for shoppers to finalise their festive shopping ahead of the big rush on the 23rd and 24th.
“2023 compared to 2019 saw similar trends for the same period (Monday 18th to Thursday 21st December), with high streets witnessing footfall fall by an average of -7.2%, by -10.5% in shopping centres however retail parks bucked the trend with a rise of +7.1%. This could be attributed to a number of factors; the gradual shift to online shopping and the potential impact of weather conditions, likely deterring shoppers from visiting outdoor retail destinations.
“Across all UK retail destinations, 23rd December consistently stands out as the busiest day for Christmas shopping. From 2023 to 2019 (excluding 2020), footfall rose year on year by an average of +30.9% in high streets, +29.5% in shopping centres, and +22.8% in retail parks, regardless of what day of the week 23rd December fell on. This likely highlights consumers finalising their grocery shops and purchasing those last minute gifts before making the great getaway to see family and friends from Christmas Eve.”
| Day | Date | Hight Street Index | Shopping Centre Index | Retail Park Index |
| Friday | 01/12/2023 | -4.9% | 0.0% | 3.1% |
| Saturday | 02/12/2023 | -8.5% | -4.0% | -1.4% |
| Sunday | 03/12/2023 | -13.1% | -5.5% | -2.1% |
| Monday | 04/12/2023 | -12.0% | -6.8% | 0.9% |
| Tuesday | 05/12/2023 | -7.6% | -3.4% | 0.9% |
| Wednesday | 06/12/2023 | -4.7% | -2.1% | -4.1% |
| Thursday | 07/12/2023 | -14.1% | -11.1% | -6.1% |
| AVERAGE | -9.3% | -4.7% | -1.2% |
