London’s West End bucks Christmas purchasing tendencies | EUROtoday

Christmas consumers have turned to the streets of central London to purchase their presents this 12 months, with excessive avenue footfall within the West End bucking the nationwide pattern.

In the week earlier than Black Friday, the fourth Friday of November, footfall was up 9% on 2024, based on knowledge from the New West End Company (NWEC). Across Black Friday week, it was up 4.1% and the next week up by 6.2%.

The weekend of 6 and seven December was additionally busy because of the pedestrianisation of Regent Street and stay performances on Oxford Street.

NWEC stated the interval confirmed “real momentum”. This contradicted the nationwide image, the place the Office of National Statistics stated retail gross sales fell unexpectedly in November.

Black Friday originated within the United States and has been extensively adopted by many retailers within the UK.

It has grow to be one of many greatest purchasing days of the 12 months and for a lot of is the unofficial begin to the Christmas purchasing season.

“This weekend we are still expecting one of our biggest weekends when people who have left it maybe to the last minute come in to buy presents and extra bedding and towels for guests,” stated Rosie Hanley, model director at John Lewis.

The NWEC stated the traffic-free occasion on Regent Street boosted footfall by 33.7% in contrast with the 12 months earlier than, and the next day of stay performances on Oxford Street elevated it by 25.1%.

“Both events featured on-street festive activations and in-store offers and experiences, drawing crowds and causing footfall to surge by nearly a third across the weekend,” the spokesperson stated.

Out on Oxford Street, one lady informed the BBC she and her good friend had their day of purchasing deliberate. “John Lewis for coffee, followed by Selfridges, and then we might have steak for lunch,” she stated.

“We won’t stop yapping, eating and shopping.”

Others stated they’d completed the majority of their Christmas purchasing at first of the month.

“Not last minute at all,” one man stated.

Another man stated he preferred to depart his purchasing to the week earlier than Christmas “to get into the spirit” – however would get all of it accomplished in a single division retailer.