Westfield has forecast bumper sales and footfall for its two London shopping centres this weekend and on Boxing Day, boosted by fact it’s the first Christmas season since Westfield London opened its expansion.
The shopping centre giant has joined a growing list of major retail proprietors predicting bumper trade over the final weeks of the festive season, with Westfield Europe chief marketing officer Myf Ryan stating that footfall across its London centres have been “extremely positive” since Black Friday thanks to a double-digit rise on 2017 figures.
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“We are looking forward to an extremely busy end to the festive period in 2018 and last weekend – Friday 14th, Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th December – saw shoppers out in large numbers,” she said.
“Our two London centres, Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City, welcomed over 854,000 visitors, an increase of 13 per cent on last year.
“The final weekend before Christmas is always a bumper trading weekend and last year was no exception as we benefited from a full weekend of trading just before Christmas Day.
“This year, ‘Super Weekend’ comes immediately before Christmas Eve, representing three full days for shoppers to pick up those last-minute presents or indulge in some self-gifting.”
She added that last year’s Boxing Day saw more than 320,000 shoppers visit the shopping centres, and it’s expected to high numbers this year following the opening of Westfield London £600m expansion in March.
“The expansion has also further strengthened the centre as a world-leading dining and entertainment destination, with the launch of Puttshack, All Star Lanes, Maple and Ichiba,” Ryan said.
“We expect to see shoppers wanting to make a day of it with shopping, dining and entertainment.”
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