Festive footfall begins to build with ‘all eyes now on Super Saturday’

UK footfall over the weekend rose 4.4% week-on-week as Christmas shopper counts started to build ahead of Super Saturday, 20 December, which is expected to be the busiest day for store footfall of the entire peak trading season.

That’s according to the latest ShopperTrak Analytics data from Sensormatic Solutions, the leading global retail solutions portfolio of Johnson Controls, which revealed that Sunday, 14 December, saw the biggest weekly improvement in store visits, rising 5.7%, with high streets seeing the biggest boost ( up 12%).

Shopper counts across last week increased steadily, rising 3.6% on the week before (1-7 December versus 8 -14 December). However, footfall across Saturday and Sunday remained lower than 2024, falling by 5.7% and by 5.4% year-on-year, respectively.

UK shoppers were expected to have made 20.6 million transactions over Friday and Saturday last week (12 and 13 December), according to separate figures from Nationwide, which was 6.39% higher than 2024.

Andy Sumpter, EMEA Retail Consultant at Sensormatic Solutions, said: “After a mixed start to peak trading and concerns that consumer caution could dampen Christmas spirits, retailers will have welcomed the tempered but steady build in festive footfall last week.

“However, retailers won’t be taking anything for granted. With under 10 days to go before the big day, they’ll be doubling down on driving store traffic and capturing seasonal spend as we race towards what’s set to be the busiest day for in-store Christmas shopping: Super Saturday.”

Historical data from the ShopperTrak Analytics platform spanning 2021 – 2024 showed that for three of the last four years Super Saturday has been the peak busiest day for store visits.

Last year on Super Saturday, footfall jumped 4.1% week-on-week – an improvement of 0.8% year-on-year – as shoppers scrambled to pick up last-minute gifts, spurred on by some retailers bringing forward Boxing Day discounts to drive up pre-Christmas demand.

This year, according to predictions from Nationwide, 10.7 million transactions are to be made on Super Saturday as consumers rush to finish Christmas shopping.

“All eyes now turn to Super Saturday, undoubtedly one of the highest stakes shopping days of the Christmas season,” added Sumpter. “And, while a single day can’t carry the entire trading period, retailers will be hoping that early momentum continues to build towards the Christmas crescendo.”