With the countdown to Christmas in full swing, and only a few shopping days remaining, many consumers will have completed their shopping and now face the arduous task of wrapping oddly shaped packages and clothing. Yet for some there still remains a large percentage of Santa’s gift list to complete. While in previous years these people may have felt the stress of last minute purchases their tardiness may have saved them a significant amount of money as shops nationwide continue to drop the prices of their winter stock.
Now that it is too late to shop online for gifts for the big day – unless you particularly enjoy the game of risk that comes with the postal service in December – retailers are going to ever greater lengths to entice shoppers back onto the high street with earlier and more comprehensive December sales than ever before.
However, figures released by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) reveal that, with the exclusion of buoyant pockets such as the West End of London, crowds in shopping centers and on high streets around the country are smaller than last year as those fearful of reckless spending stay at home or shop online to avoid impulse buys.
Some analysts maintain that central London has become a retail “bubble” where the crowds on major shopping streets such as Oxford Street are spending as if it is pre-recession 2007.
Vicky Redwood, of Capital Economics said: “We think central London seems to be living up to its reputation as a ‘bubble’ largely insulated from the rest of the UK.”
She also suggested that the weakness of the pound was charming high-spending tourists to the city.
Redwood further added: “Anyone walking around central London would be forgiven for questioning whether the UK has actually been in a double-dip recession. Shops are crowded and restaurants are fully booked.”
Yet, in general, sales are dropping the closer Christmas Day gets. Compared to last year, sales are down by 2.1 per cent on the high street, while the total in shopping malls has dropped by 5.5 per cent and out of town retail parks have suffered a 5.7 per cent blow to their profits.
Peter Luff, president of Ipsos, believes that the poor figures this year are largely due to a rise in food and energy prices – a situation which is only expected to worsen as 2013 dawns. It is his opinion that consumers are holding back on Christmas shopping until the last minute, hoping to save money with last minute price drops rather than buying well in advance.
He says; “It’s an interesting scenario and somewhat of a stand-off between shoppers and retailers.
“It could be that consumers are simply holding out for even greater discounts and bargains, or they may be holding onto their money with a view to spending immediately after Christmas or in the New Year.”
Director General of the BRC, Helen Dickinson, agrees with Mr Luff’s view, but adds that the drop in footfall could also be attributed to the fact that some consumers are choosing to do their Christmas shopping online this year. With poor weather and chilly conditions battering high streets nationwide at the moment, the appeal of completing the Christmas list from the comfort of your own home has grown exponentially, especially given that most retailers are offering the same promotions online as they are in store.
She says; “At first glance the year on year fall in shopper numbers doesn’t look great but there are several factors at play.
“Online shopping will be more important this Christmas than ever before and with Christmas falling on a Tuesday many of us feel we have a few more days to finalise our festive shopping.”
However, the fact that retailers have dropped their prices does not necessarily mean that those who bought online missed out, as e-retailers such as Amazon and play.com have been running pre-Christmas promotions and free delivery services for several weeks now. While the 60 per cent off tags seen in shop windows such as H&M and Gap may not quite have been reached in the online marketplace, cheap imports and no delivery costs could really have saved web surfers a bundle.
So no matter whether you shopped online or in a shopping centre – or indeed whether you still have the joys of the Christmas rush to come – there are plenty of bargains out there to help tightly squeezed households this festive season. The question will be whether, come the Boxing Day sales, there will still be enough on the shelves for the avid bargain hunters preparing to flock to their nearest shopping centre.
Did you complete your Christmas shopping early this year, or do you prefer to hold out to the last minute in order to catch some last minute bargains? Have you switched to the online marketplace along with many others, or has the lure of the local high street with its Christmas lights sparkling won you over?
