UK To Spend £1.55bn On Last Friday Before Christmas

• UK shoppers set to spend £1.55bn as they prepare for Christmas

• Sales set to be up 5.4% compared to the same day last year (£1.5bn) thanks to Christmas Eve rail strikes 

• Shops to make £1.09bn from in-store sales alone

• 14.1 million people predicted to shop today, with 10.4 million heading to stores

On the last Friday before Christmas, today shoppers in the UK are set to spend £1.55bn on last-minute preparations, according to a new report. 

The VoucherCodes.co.uk Shopping for Christmas 2022 forecasts a bumper day for retailers as planned Christmas Eve train strikes force shoppers to complete their Christmas shopping sooner. Compared to the same day last year (£1.5bn), sales are set to be up 5.4%. 

Retailers are expected to rake in £1.09bn from in-store sales alone, as 10.4 million people brave their local high streets, shopping centres and supermarkets. Shoppers are set to spend a further £0.46bn on online orders, making Friday the second most lucrative day for retailers during the week leading up to Christmas.

2022 retail sales forecasts for the week before Christmas: in-store, online & totals. 

All figures are in £bn. 

Over the course of the week (Monday 19th - Sunday 25th December), UK shoppers are expected to spend £9.21bn, with 103.6 million people set to make a purchase. Thanks to rail strikes, Christmas Eve sales are forecast to slump to £1.13bn, the lowest of any day this week for spending except Christmas Day itself. 

Maureen McDonagh, SVP International & Managing Director at VoucherCodes.co.uk, comments, “Traditionally, retailers look forward to a sales boost on Christmas Eve from last-minute shoppers snapping up the last of their festive essentials. However, as a result of train strikes, retailers should prepare for a busier than usual day, with many people set to treat today like the last day before Christmas.

“With limited time left to make the most of pre-Christmas customers, and consumers’ budgets stretched this year, this Friday, retailers need to proudly showcase offers, customer incentives and anything that provides shoppers with real value for money in order to stand out from the crowd and drive last-minute sales.”

Source : VoucherCodes.co.uk

Image : IR_Stone / iStockphoto.com (1355828207)

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