New figures: Black Friday footfall up 3.3%
New figures have shown that footfall rose by 3.3% on this year’s Black Friday compared to 2018 as shoppers ignored Brexit uncertainty in order to snap up bargains.
The data from retail intelligence company Springboard has revealed that shopper numbers increased in high streets, retail parks and shopping centres although the latter fared the best with a footfall uplift of 6.5%.
Springboard said shopper numbers may have been boosted by the fact that this year’s Black Friday fell on payday. It also said the uplift was driven by consumer demand for combining shopping with leisure and eating out. The firm’s figures show that footfall increased as the day progressed with an uplift of 1.9% up to 12pm, 3.7% by 3pm, and 3.9% by 5pm.
Commenting on the Black Friday performance, Diane Wehrle, insights director at 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.”
However, Springboard is now expecting a lull in footfall over the next couple of weeks as shoppers delay making further significant purchases until immediately before Christmas as they look to take advantage of last minute discounting.
