UK shops enjoyed their best festive season since the start of the pandemic as visitor numbers held up despite widespread train strikes.
(Bloomberg) — UK shops enjoyed their best festive season since the start of the pandemic as visitor numbers held up despite widespread train strikes.
Foot traffic rose 15% compared with last December, according to data from the British Retail Consortium. Postal strikes meant shoppers visited stores at the last minute to buy gifts, it said.
Rail workers held a series of strikes in the middle of the month, and more over Christmas and the days immediately afterward, leading to fears that retailers could suffer.
However, while numbers were still down on pre-Covid levels, the drop was less sharp than in previous months. There was a “significant improvement” on last year when the omicron variant deterred shoppers from mixing in public, said Helen Dickinson, chief executive officer at the BRC.
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Clothing chain Next Plc, budget retailer B&M European Value Retail SA and drugstore chain Boots all reported rising sales in the approach to Christmas. Next lifted its full-year outlook and B&M is set to pay a special dividend thanks to better trading.
The UK enters the fourth of five days of train strikes on Friday. Talks between unions, ministers and rail bosses will re-start on Monday but labor groups have been incensed by government plans to bring in new legislation restricting the conditions in which public sector strikes can be held.
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