Shoppers take to the high street for Boxing Day sales

Shoppers are expected to hit the UK's high streets in search of great bargains in the Boxing Day sales.

But some buyers enter Oxford Street, Londonsaid sales were unusually quiet on Tuesday.

Including several retailers Grades & SpencerFurther and Gap kept the door closed outside.

Oxford Street shopper Tufael Ahmed, 47, told the PA news agency: “We were here last year and the queues were much longer – there is a noticeable difference.

“I just don't think people have the money and it feels like retailers have discounted things before and now they're taking it for granted.”

Another shopper, Rollo, 21, who came to London from Egypt, said: “I think it's been pretty quiet so far. I went into Selfridges, it was quieter than usual. A lot of the shops aren't even open yet, so I think most visitors in London don't get up early.'

It comes after Mastercard research showed that physical in-store spending over the holiday period rose 3.5% year-on-year, while online spending fell 2.8%.

Spending on restaurants increased sharply by 11.4%, along with apparel (8.0%) and jewelry (8.3%), according to the study.

The data, published for the first time by Mastercard SpendingPulse, analyzes UK retail spending between November 1 and December 24.

It measured in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment and was not adjusted for inflation.

Overall UK retail sales were up 2.6% year-on-year, with in-store sales up 3.5% as shoppers returned to the high street.

E-commerce sales were also up slightly by 1.9%, but saw a big jump on Cyber ​​Monday, up 9.2% from 2022.

Natalya Lekhmanova, Mastercard's senior economist in Europe, said: “The British consumer has been savvy in their spending this year. While overall retail spending is relatively flat, we've seen an uptick in Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday spending when it comes to electronics in particular.

“Shoppers were willing to splash the cash on gifts, spending on jewelery and clothing has increased significantly year-on-year, but wanted to do so at a reasonable price.

“We have also seen a cautiously optimistic return to the high street. British consumers want to celebrate over the festive period and we've seen spending on restaurants increase by more than 10% as people continue to value experiences and spending time together after the pandemic.”