Evening shoppers rescued Boxing Day’s headline numbers. MRI Software logged a 4.4% year-on-year rise in UK retail footfall on 26 December, the strongest Boxing Day uplift in more than a decade. Spend is another story: Barclays expects roughly £1bn less than last year’s event.

By location, retail parks did the heavy lifting with footfall up 8.8%, while high streets rose 3.6% and shopping centres 2.1%. The step-change came after dark: visits between 5pm and 11pm averaged +9.6% versus +3.1% from 6am to 5pm, pointing to sales trips that blended dining and leisure.

That daypart shift matters because early reads looked soft. By early afternoon, MRI’s live index still showed declines for high streets and shopping centres before the late comeback, reminding retailers that trading windows have shifted later into the day.

Footfall is not spend. Barclays’ modelling points to £3.6bn of Boxing Day purchases, down from £4.6bn last year, with participation easing to 26% from 28% even as the average budget per shopper rises to £253. In short: fewer buyers, slightly bigger baskets.

The macro backdrop is still tight. ONS reports November retail volumes fell 0.1% month on month and remain about 3% below pre‑pandemic, while the online share edged up to 28.6%. The Bank of England cut Bank Rate to 3.75% on 18 December and noted CPI at 3.2%-easing, but above target.

Not every store opened on 26 December. Supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco traded, while Marks & Spencer, Aldi and Lidl stayed shut-funnelling some families into food, drink and activities. Westfield said visitors combined shopping with dining and leisure, extending dwell times.

Momentum carried into Saturday 27 December, when MRI recorded footfall up 1.6% year on year across all destinations. High streets led (+2.4%), retail parks followed (+2.1%), and shopping centres dipped slightly (−0.6%), suggesting the festive period still had fuel left.

For operators, two takeaways stand out. First, retail parks continue to win when households want easy parking and a day out. Second, high streets are pulling more evening trade than a year ago-so staffing, click‑and‑collect windows and meal‑deal tie‑ins should skew later this week.

Conversion will decide the P&L. ONS data show grocery volumes have fallen for four consecutive months, while clothing, household and tech held up better into November. Expect grocers to defend price points and fashion chains to lean on clearance as returns and gift‑card redemptions kick in.

Bottom line for investors and SMEs: a decade‑high Boxing Day footfall is welcome, but it doesn’t rewrite the year. Watch gift‑card spend, returns rates and New Year’s Eve top‑ups to judge conversion. If late‑day visits persist, the winners will be those who trade hard into the evening.