The UK’s retail sector is feeling bullish about the upcoming festive season, according to an independent survey of multichannel retailers commissioned by Barclays’ Retail & Wholesale banking team.
70 per cent of retailers are feeling more confident about Christmas trading compared to last year, which includes 28 per cent who said they are far more confident.
This festive cheer compares favourably to 2013, when only 52 per cent of respondents were feeling optimistic about the trading period ahead.
72 per cent of those surveyed also said they expected revenues to increase, with 21 per cent expecting sales to increase by 10 per cent or more, compared to 2013.
Retailers are expecting to see growth across all their sales channels over Christmas, with shopping on tablets predicted to take off.
35 per cent of retailers said it would be their main sales channel from a growth perspective, ahead of smartphones and stores, both at 19 per cent.
The popularity of American shopping days is on the up, Barclays says, with 65 per cent of retailers planning Black Friday promotions on November 28, the day after Thanksgiving and one of the most important shopping days in the US retail calendar.
Another tradition that has crossed the Atlantic is Mega Monday, traditionally the busiest online shopping day in America, which is set to fall on December 1.
96 per cent of retailers questioned predicted that traffic will increase to their site on Mega Monday, compared to last year.
On Christmas Day, 99 per cent of retailers said they expected traffic to their sites to go up significantly, as shoppers scour for sale bargains, with the peak time predicted to be between 8pm and 10pm.
