Pure Beauty

Post payday Black Friday boosts high street footfall for first time in 3 years

By Becky Bargh | Published: 3-Dec-2019

Retail parks, shopping centres and high streets are feeling the benefit of the discount shopping period for the first time since 2016

Black Friday 2019 caused a spike in footfall for the first time since 2016.

The results from the discount trading period show a 3.3% increase on last year’s figures with high streets, retail parks and shopping centres all feeling the benefit over the 24 hour period.

Commenting on the results, Diane Wehrle, Insights Director at retail intelligence firm Springboard, said: “This positive result may well ‘seal the deal’ for retailers in terms of their commitment to Black Friday moving forward, as they will have claimed shoppers early on in the Christmas trading period, giving them the opportunity to steal a march on their rivals.”

Black Friday, which coincided with payday for many consumers this year, has been named as a key driving force for the positive results.

Meanwhile, the growing trend combining shopping with other activities, such as eating out, is also thought to have encouraged shoppers to take to the high streets.

However, in the lead up to Christmas, Springboard predicts footfall will lull as consumers delay purchases to take advantage of the last minute discounts before the 25th.

The firm expects footfall decline between 24 to 28 December of 1.5%, which is an improvement on the 2.8% drop the market experienced in 2018.

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