Hammerson's shopping centres report rise in footfall ahead of Christmas

Hammerson, the UK’s owner and curator of flagship retail destinations including Bullring & Grand Central, Birmingham, and Brent Cross, London, expects around two million people visit its venues this weekend, as consumers rush to buy those last few gifts. The company said in a statement that footfall across Hammerson’s centres in the first two weeks of December was up 0.6 percent year-on-year.

“Despite the broader uncertainty, Britain’s consumers are still looking to make this Christmas special, and we’re expecting two million people to visit our centres this weekend. There’s always an uptick in footfall at this time of the year, as shoppers start to worry about whether online orders will be delivered in time for the big day,” said Mark Bourgeois, Managing Director UK & Ireland at Hammerson in a statement.

According to the data gathered by Hammersons, the recent cold snap has seen consumers shopping for Christmas jumpers. The company added that data from Shop Online at Westquay, Southampton, identified Fashion Union’s ‘Jolly’ sequin Jumper and Society 8’s Sequin Tree Christmas Jumper as top sellers.

Additionally, traditional gifting categories are also in high demand, particularly jewellery and health & beauty. At Highcross, Leicester, Estella Bartlett earrings, Olivia Burton watches and Hot Diamond necklaces are best sellers, while in Birmingham, consumers are likely to exploring products by the make-up brand Morphe on Christmas Day with 39 percent of all brand related searches on Hammerson’s Chatbot search tool at Bullring & Grand Central were about this US brand, which launched in the UK this year.

Picture credit:Hammerson