Christmas has finally arrived, giving retailers and consumers a much needed rest following the shopping frenzy of the past few weeks. This window of respite has certainly been earned by retailers in the West End in particular, with bosses in the popular shopping district predicting that the results of Christmas 2013 will prove that last minute shopping was extremely profitable this year.
Last weekend, West End retailers saw record numbers of consumers bagging bargains with footfall in certain stores increasing by as much as 10 per cent year on year. In turn, this had a hugely beneficial effect upon sales, with retailers again recording increases of up to 10 per cent throughout the weekend.
Fortnum and Mason was one of the major winners in the pre-Christmas rush, with certain Christmas lines selling out around 2 weeks before Christmas Day itself. As a result, chief executive Ewan Venters made the decision to extend opening hours at the brand’s Piccadilly branch until 10pm almost a week early – usually, this only occurs in the final five day run up to Christmas.
The 14th and 15th of December saw retailers celebrating one of the most successful shopping weekends of recent years, with John Lewis’ flagship Oxford Street store recording a 3 per cent increase in consumer footfall. Retail director Andrew Murphy stated at the time that the huge boom in consumer enthusiasm helped to continue the winning streak for the UK’s number one department store.
He said; “It’s been a steady build up in the past weeks but the last 24 hours is when it really kicked off.
“We’ve broken the all-time record for home ware sales in the past seven days and confidently expect further records to fall in the run up to Christmas.”
John Lewis saw new ranges by celebrity chefs performing particularly well, with Heston Blumenthal and Jamie Oliver’s branded home ware designs virtually flying off the shelves. Kitchen appliances also saw a significant rise in popularity, with consumers preparing for Christmas (and the Boxing Day hangover!) by purchasing coffee machines, blenders and juicers.
Shopping centres have also seen a return to fortune in the run up to Christmas, contrasting with recent British Retail Consortium results which have shown falling footfall levels over the past few months. This is perhaps because of the number of high-profile retailers who chose to launch sales and promotions early this year, attempting to combat the prevailing low consumer confidence by enticing shoppers with offers of up to 50 per cent off.
Yes, this Christmas has certainly been highly profitable for both consumers and retailers, with shoppers eagerly snapping up bargains while retailers revelled in the ringing of tills. Fortunately, today we all get to have a break in which we can eat too much, drink too much and open presents – in preparation for doing it all again tomorrow when the Boxing Day Sales officially begin!
Will you be hitting the shops first thing in the morning to spend the Christmas cash, or do your plans go no further than turkey sandwiches on the sofa?
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