Final days of Christmas trading vital as retailers bank on last-minute rush

However, retailers seem confident that, owing to Christmas Day falling on a Sunday this year, the biggest shopping days are yet to come.

Retailers are vowing to hold their nerve during the nail-biting final days as they predict shoppers will flock to the high street to pick up last minute gifts on Thursday, Friday and even as late as Saturday – Christmas Eve.

“If I’m honest, I thought Christmas trade would have been better than what we’ve seen so far,” said The Entertainer chief executive Gary Grant.

“But it’s a case of people leaving it late, because they feel there is still plenty of shopping time left. We’re confident it will come off,” Grant adds, explaining that “spending has seriously picked up” since last weekend.

Hawkins Bazaar boss David Mordecai agreed that, while the tills are ringing now, it has come “very, very late” this year.

Following a “sluggish” November and a slightly disappointing Black Friday, the bargain toy-shop boss said sales have really revved up, and is confident Christmas will “definitely surpass expectations”.

The Black Friday effect

Ann Summers managing director Vanessa Gold she is “confident the sales will come in” and expects Friday to be the strongest day by far.

“I hate this period because there is always such uncertainty,” Gold told Retail Week.

The lingerie retailer, which noted a flattening in footfall following Black Friday, thinks the Sale event is a contributing factor to the delayed Christmas trading.

“Over the last three years, and maybe there’s a correlation with Black Friday, we’re definitely seeing it get later and later. I’m expecting it to come right to the wire,” she said.

Extra shopping days

However, Gold predicts the way that Christmas falls this year, which means there is an extra shopping Saturday on Christmas Eve, will remedy any post-Black Friday malaise.

Fat Face chief executive Anthony Thompson told Retail Week that every day from now, even including Saturday, “will be massive”.

“We’re expecting it [Saturday] to be a really big day,” he said, adding that trading this year is similar to that in 2011 - the last time Christmas Day fell on a Sunday.

However, the lateness of this rush has prompted concerns on how to handle the tidal wave of shoppers.

“We’ve planned some contingency logistics, and we’re up for a challenge,” said Grant, “but if everyone rushes in on Friday or Saturday, how many people an hour can you possibly serve?”

Paperchase boss Timothy Melgund said the extra shopping day has “certainly had an impact” but insisted that the cards and gifts specialist is “well set up to trade until Christmas Eve”.

“As always we expect to see a last minute rush of customers buying gifts, cards & wrapping paper,” he said.