London's West End fares well during UK's Boxing Day sales

Shoppers enthusiastically rang the cash tills in London's famed West End and Mayfair shopping districts during the Boxing Day sales, despite shoppers' footfall being down overall in the United Kingdom on what is traditionally one of the busiest days of the year.

New West End Company, which represents retail businesses in the West End and Mayfair hotspots of Bond Street, Oxford Street, and Regent Street, reported a 16 percent increase in footfall compared to 2017, and a total of $60 million in sales on the day.

Spending in the area was boosted by international tourists, according to the company. It said thousands of shoppers took advantage of discounted products, with some stores offering as much as 70 percent off items.

New West End Company said 50 percent of shoppers in London's West End were visitors from overseas and noted that travel bookings to London were up 2.3 percent between November and January. Chinese, Saudi, and Qatari visitors were among the biggest international spenders in the West End. Visitors from the United States were also a big part of the success story. During the 90 days leading up to the festive season, US shoppers' spending was up by 29 percent.

Jace Tyrrell, chief executive of New West End Company, said: "In London's West End, we saw a Boxing Day bounce … We believe international tourists were a large driver of this, with US, Chinese, Saudi, and Qatari visitors in particular taking advantage of the weaker pound and world-class shopping experience in London's West End to come and make their purchases in the sales."

But despite heavy discounts in Britain's shops, the number of people visiting retailers in the rest of the UK on Boxing Day fell for the third year in a row.

Retail analyst Springboard said average footfall for the day was 3.1 percent lower by 4pm on Wednesday, suggesting Boxing Day has become less important as a trading day.

It noted one of the reasons fewer shoppers were visiting stores was because of "the almost continuous discounting that has been taking place by retailers this year – particularly over the period from Black Friday onwards – which negates the reason to defer purchases to Boxing Day."

Many retailers are also offering better discounts online than they do instore, which has led shoppers away from retail destinations and brick-and-mortar stores.

It has been a tough year for retailers, with major high-street chains including Poundworld, Maplin, and House of Fraser falling into administration and with others, including Marks & Spencer and Debenhams, announcing plans to shut stores.