UK shopper traffic is expected to rise +0.5% year-on-year on Super Saturday (21 December 2024), according to RetailNext’s data
Shoppers to switch 36% of Christmas spending budgets to discount retailers in 2024, with value-driven demand dictating festive buying behaviours
Super Saturday (21 Dec 2024) is expected to drive a rise in retail footfall, as last-minute shoppers descend on stores, according to RetailNext, the leading analytics solution for bricks-and-mortar retailers. However, share of festive spend could see a marked shift from traditional retailers to discounters in the last days of pre-Christmas trading.
Original data from RetailNext’s UK shopper traffic index, which captures billions of store visits globally each year, suggests that footfall on Super Saturday will rise +0.5% year-on-year (Sat 21 Dec 2024 vs 23 Dec 2023).
Traditionally one of the busiest in-store shopping days of peak trading, Super Saturday falls two days earlier this year compared to 2023, prompting a modest shopper count increase of +0.5% compared to last year. However, with some of the busiest days are still to come, it will mark the beginning of a shift from online to in-store shopping in the final trading days pre-Christmas, as Gary Whittemore, Head of Sales EMEA & APAC at RetailNext, explained:
“As time starts to run out between now and the Big Day – and with many last online delivery deadlines looming – Super Saturday is set to mark the tipping point where digital shopping migrates in-store, as consumers tick off the final gifts on their Christmas shopping lists. With shoppers tipped to have spent almost £2.5billion in the last weekend before Christmas last year, retailers will be hopeful that, after what’s been a bumpy peak trading period to date, the expected surge in festive footfall will translate into ample conversions.”
However, the traditional share of festive spend could significantly shift this year from High Street retailers to discounters in the last few days of pre-Christmas trading, as discount brand switching intensifies amidst ongoing consumer caution, RetailNext suggests.
While data from PwC suggests retail spend on gifts and Christmas celebrations will rise 5% year-on-year – the first-time consumers will outstrip festive spending since 2021 – shoppers will continue to express value-based buying tendencies, making them mindful about where they spend and intensifying discounter switching. Original research of over 1,000 UK consumers by RetailNext showed that shoppers plan to switch 36% of their Christmas spending budget from traditional High Street retailers to discount brands, such as Lidl, Aldi, Home Bargains and B&M. Discounter switching was expected to be even more rife among Millennials, who are expected to shift 41% of their festive spending budgets to discounters.
Equally, while M&S topped the key anchor stores that would drive festive shoppers to visit retail parks or out-of-town shopping destinations (42%), this was followed by discount brands B&M (41%), Home Bargains (38%) and discount supermarket, Aldi (32%), according to the RetailNext poll.
“While the acute pressure on household spend appears to be easing, shoppers aren’t expected to simply snap back to pre-cost-of-living spending habits,” Whittemore added. “Having learnt savvy and thrifty shopping hacks, consumers have redefined their concept of value. And this is bearing out in expected share of wallet for Christmas, with discounters’ retail offers, such as Aldi’s middle aisle, likely to benefit from these value-driven buying behaviours.”
