Shoppers to splash £2.87bn this ‘Panic Weekend’

Shoppers are forecast to spend £2.87bn this ‘Panic Weekend’, 17-18 December 2022 – the last full weekend before Christmas, a rise of 4.4% from the same weekend in 2021.

‘Super Saturday’ is to be the most lucrative day in the run up to Christmas, with £1.63bn spent, while ‘Stampede Sunday’ is forecast to hit £1.24bn, up 22.8% year-on-year, as 16.8 million people are expected to shop online and in-store.

Some 34.3 million people are expected to make a purchase over the weekend, and 21 million of those are set to shop in-store, according to new research from VoucherCodes for its ‘Shopping for Christmas Report: The build up to Christmas’.

Of the £1.63bn expected spend on ‘Super Saturday’, the majority will be spent in stores (£0.97bn) as 11.2 million shoppers hit the high street, supermarkets and shopping centres. A further £0.63bn will be spent online by 6.2 million shoppers.

This rise in spend comes from an increase in offline spending, from £0.62bn in 2021 to £0.65bn in 2022, and also from a large rise in online spending from £0.38bn to £0.57bn. As ‘Stampede Sunday’ occurs a day earlier than last year, shoppers have more time to order online and guarantee delivery in time for Christmas.

Maureen McDonagh, SVP International and Managing Director at VoucherCodes.co.uk, said: “Whilst retail sales over the six week Christmas period are set to be down 3% year-on-year, retailers will be relieved they can expect a last-minute boost over the weekend before Christmas, as shoppers rush to stock up on festive essentials.

“Consumers will be cutting back this Christmas in response to the cost-of-living crisis but, as our report shows, they’re still planning on making the best Christmas with what limited budget they have. This means retailers should focus on offering their customers real value this festive season, with deals and the best discounts possible.”