Footfall on Tuesday (23 Dec 2025) – the last full shopping day before Christmas – remained stubbornly muted, according to data from Sensormatic Solutions, the leading global retail solutions portfolio of Johnson Controls.

Its ShopperTrak Analytics data, which captures 40billion store visits globally each year, showed that store visits yesterday (23 Dec 2025) fell -13.1% year-on-year, with Retail Parks remaining the most resilient retail destination, with a less steep decline of -8.6% compared to 2024.

Consumer caution upends spending patterns

However, week-on-week shopper traffic still rallied +64.8% yesterday, with Shopping Centres seeing the greatest footfall gains, up +74.3% versus the week prior. Store visits also rose +42.7% on the daily average for December. 

“After an unsettled start to the festive period – defined by shaky consumer confidence and spending hesitancy – retailers will be left feeling frustrated that footfall remains stubbornly muted, after many were pinning their hopes on a surge in store traffic yesterday,” said Andy Sumpter, EMEA Retail Consultant at Sensormatic Solutions.

“With consumers leaving purchases right up to the wire, some retailers have released Boxing Day deals early to try and unlock that, so far, elusive consumer spending.”

Andy Sumpter, Sensormatic Solutions

Retails bring forward Boxing Day discounts to unlock spend

As caution has prompted purchasing hesitancy among consumers, some retailers, including Currys and Boots, have brought forward Boxing Day deals to drive up pre-Christmas demand. 

Primark, for example, started its Boxing Day sale a full week early, while Debenhams launched a pre-Boxing Day sale, offering customers extra discounts of up to 77% off.

“We expect last-minute buying to continue well into Christmas Eve.  However, even this final throw of the discounting dice might be ‘too little, too late’ for retailers already battling to make up for lost time – whether it will be enough to reverse softer performance earlier in the season remains to be seen,” Sumpter added.

Boxing Day (26 Dec 2025), which has seen some migration online in recent years, is expected to be the fourth busiest day for in-store shopping during the Golden Quarter.  

Despite reports that early season discounting events, such as Black Friday, have diminished Boxing Day’s appeal, data from VoucherCodes suggests Boxing Day spend will still outperform Black Friday; consumers are tipped to spend £3.81 billion on Boxing Day compared to £3.36 billion of purchases made on Black Friday.