Fall in London shoppers lower than in rest of UK

Oxford Street attracts many tourists

The number of festive shoppers on London's streets has fallen by less than in the rest of the UK, according to retail analysts.

Footfall in Greater London dropped by 8.4% between 18 December and New Year's Eve compared to 2023 whereas the figure is 11.2% across the rest of the UK, data from MRI Software shows.

The number of people heading to the shops on Black Friday and Christmas Eve in London jumped compared to 2023 but was down on Boxing Day.

Jenni Matthews, head of marketing at MRI software, said: "We knew even before the pandemic there was a gradual shift to online shopping and that's becoming more and more prominent."

She added that London's status as a tourist destination was "probably why it's faring much better on average compared to the rest of the UK".

More than 13,000 High Street stores were shuttered for good in 2024, figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research show.

It found that 11,341 independent stores were shut last year, a 45.5% jump compared to 2023.

Price rises and High Street job losses are "inevitable" following a rise in National Insurance contributions announced in October's budget, a group of the biggest retailers in the UK has warned.

Ms Matthews added: "The retailers are likely to say they'll be facing challenges as we head into 2025 and it's something they're already bracing themselves for, so that is going to bring with it the financial challenges that we saw outlined in the autumn budget."