Christmas shoppers have flocked to central London’s retail districts this year, driving high street footfall in the West End in contrast to national trends.
Data from the New West End Company (NWEC) indicates a 9% increase in footfall during the week preceding Black Friday, observed on the fourth Friday of November. This positive trend continued with a 4.1% rise throughout Black Friday week, followed by a 6.2% increase in the subsequent week.
The weekend of December 6th and 7th also experienced high traffic, attributed to the pedestrianisation of Regent Street and live performances on Oxford Street.
The NWEC highlighted the period as demonstrating “real momentum,” a divergence from the national picture. The Office for National Statistics recently reported an unexpected decline in retail sales for November.
Black Friday, an import from the United States, has become a significant fixture in the UK retail calendar.
The event marks one of the busiest shopping days of the year and is widely considered the unofficial kickoff to the Christmas shopping season.
“We are anticipating one of our busiest weekends this weekend, as shoppers who have waited until the last minute arrive to purchase gifts and essential items such as extra bedding and towels for guests,” noted Rosie Hanley, brand director at John Lewis.
According to the NWEC, the traffic-free event on Regent Street resulted in a 33.7% increase in footfall compared to the previous year, while the subsequent day of live performances on Oxford Street led to a 25.1% rise.
“Both events incorporated festive activations on the street and in-store offers and experiences, attracting large crowds and boosting footfall by almost a third across the weekend,” a spokesperson stated.
On Oxford Street, one shopper told the BBC that she and a friend had carefully planned their shopping itinerary: “John Lewis for coffee, followed by Selfridges, and then we might have steak for lunch.”
“We won’t stop yapping, eating and shopping.”
Others reported having completed the majority of their Christmas shopping earlier in the month.
“Not last minute at all,” one man commented.
Another shopper said he preferred to delay his shopping until the week before Christmas “to get into the spirit,” and intended to complete it all in a single department store.
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