Liverpool ONE has reported its busiest festive shopping season since 2019, with January shaping up to also be one of its most successful starts to the year in six years.
The retail and entertainment destination has once again bucked national retail trends during the festive period. Liverpool ONE reports double-digit footfall growth of 10% as well as a strong uplift of 7% in overall sales during December, while national figures saw a decrease in footfall, according to the latest British Retail Consortium (BRC) statistics.
Overall, Liverpool ONE saw a 3% annual increase in footfall during 2024, a positive growth consistently maintained since the pandemic and, once again, considerably ahead of national and regional figures.
The so-called ‘Golden Quarter’ (October, November, December) saw growth in footfall, outperforming the national picture, according to BRC figures.
Black Friday week welcomed double-digit growth of 14% in visitor numbers, whilst in-store sales saw a whopping 28% annual increase during this period, with a growing trend of shoppers buying in-store and kick-starting the start of Christmas shopping in the city.
In addition to the strong performance in the run up to Christmas during December, the period between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day – known as ‘Twixmas’ – showed an impressive 26% year-on-year increase, a period which is growing as a firm favourite among visitors.
Friday 27 December ranked in the top five busiest Fridays of the year at Liverpool ONE.
Retail bosses say the major growth is a clear result of significant consumer confidence in Liverpool ONE with more visitors enjoying Liverpool ONE more often, plus the appetite of shoppers wanting to spend at Christmas time and the growing popularity of the period known as ‘Twixmas’.
Iain Finlayson, Estate Director at Liverpool ONE, said:
“Overall, we have had another extremely successful Christmas at Liverpool ONE, making it our busiest since before the COVID-19 pandemic – a true testament to the confidence of both visitors and brands in Liverpool ONE.
“There were very clear front-runners in terms of our busiest times, with Black Friday weekend putting shoppers in the headspace of ‘thinking Christmas’ with a considerable increase on in-store shopping.
“December saw double digit growth, in particular in the run up to Christmas and we continued to see the consolidation of the days between Christmas and New Year as a favourite for families to enjoy quality time together while enjoying post-Christmas sales for those looking to grab a bargain and spend gift cards and vouchers.”
Initial figures show overall sales growth of 7% during December, with categories such as beauty, menswear, toys and games and gifting all performing strongly.
The strength of retail performance sits alongside exceptionally strong sales growth, across leisure and entertainment, demonstrating the effective mix of retail and leisure at Liverpool ONE.
Now, Liverpool ONE is experiencing its strongest start to the year in six years, with the first week of 2025 showing double-digit growth since 2024, which was already a record year.
Major new openings are planned during 2025, with global brands such as Uniqlo and Sephora set to open their doors in the coming months, part of what is set to be the busiest year of openings since 2008.
Iain added:
“The excellent performance endorses our commitment to continue innovating and listening to what our visitors want to see, whether that’s international fashion and beauty brands, trendy pop-ups, or new and exciting leisure venues for the whole family to experience.
“We’re looking forward to bringing our plans to life with an impressive pipeline of new openings taking place throughout the year and working towards an even more successful 2025.”
For more information about Liverpool ONE, visit: www.liverpool-one.com
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