// Retail sales set to fall by 23% compared to last Christmas Eve as National Rail strikes begin at 3pm
// UK shoppers set to spend £3.59bn this Boxing Day – down 8.9% on 2021 (£3.94bn)
UK retail sales are set to slump by 23% this Christmas Eve as train strikes force shoppers to rush home early in time for the big day, according to a new report.
The VoucherCodes.co.uk Shopping for Christmas 2022 report predicts UK shoppers will spend £1.13bn this Christmas Eve, down from £1.5bn in 2021, and the lowest spend of any day in the run-up to Christmas.
The report credits this drop to planned train strikes from 3pm on Christmas Eve, meaning many consumers will have to cut their shopping short to make it home for Christmas.
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With just a day to go until the main event, bricks and mortar stores are set to feel the brunt of the strikes, as forecasts suggest they will fail to hit the billion-pound sales mark.
The report predicts £0.84bn will be spent in stores over the course of the day, a 38% decline on last Christmas Eve 2021 which hit £1.36bn.
Although. online retailers are set to see above-average takings this Christmas Eve, with consumers expected to spend £0.29bn online, despite purchases not arriving before the big day – a rise of 123% on last year’s sales which reached £0.13bn.
UK shoppers are set to spend £3.59bn this Boxing Day as the post-Christmas sales begin, according to a new report.
Meanwhile, Boxing Day sales are set to hit £3.59bn, down 8.9% on 2021 (£3.94bn) as post-Christmas sales slump amidst the raging cost-of-living crisis.
This trend is set to continue throughout the week, with year-on-year sales for the week after Christmas (25th – 31st December) set to be down by -3.8%, from £14.34bn in 2021 to £13.80bn this year.
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