The Shopping for Christmas Report: The build up to Christmas and Boxing Day sales report by vouchercodes.co.uk reveals this weekend consumers will stock up on last minute gifts, food and drink.
The report forecasts a strong weekend of sales for retailers with spend set to rise by 15.3% versus 2022 (£2.87bn) as inflation and the timing of Christmas bump up sales.
With Panic Weekend falling a day earlier this year, retailers have an extra day to entice customers, with 38 million consumers expected to shop either in-store or online over the weekend – 3.8 million more than last year.
Super Saturday (16 December) will see the highest sales figures over the week leading up to Christmas, peaking at £1.76bn. Whilst 12.7 million people are forecast to hit the high street spending £1.15bn, a further 6.8 million customers will shop online, spending £0.61bn.
When it comes to Stampede Sunday (17 December), 10.3 million Brits are forecast to spend £0.68bn in stores, with a further 8.2 million people shopping online, spending £0.68 bn.
Michael Brandy, senior commercial director at Vouchercodes.co.uk, commented: “This year has been particularly tough for retailers so it’s great to see there’s going to be one more boost to sales before the end of the year.
“With sales forecast to increase by an enormous 15.3% year-on-year and customer numbers set to increase by 10.5% over the weekend, both online and offline retailers should brace themselves for a last-minute festive rush.
“To see the biggest rewards over ‘Panic Weekend’, retailers should prioritise convenience and value above all else. Consumers only have a few days left before Christmas to pick up their festive essentials so by putting popular gifts, food and drink in pride of place and offering discounts on these items retailers will be able to encourage extra sales and create a loyal customer base.”
