More than 35,000 British retailers and 20,000 bars and restaurants are facing significant financial distress, according to new data, while shoppers are forecast to spend almost a quarter less in physical stores this Boxing Day than before the pandemic. If fashion and footwear shops, furniture businesses and other “non-essential” retailers are allowed to remain open from 26 December, £3.94bn is expected to be spent in stores and online that day, 10% less than before the pandemic and 1% lower than last year. Spending in physical stores alone is expected to fall by 23% compared with 2019 as many shoppers avoid high streets, shopping centres and retail parks amid fears over the Omicron variant of coronavirus. The forecast for the whole post-Christmas week is not much brighter, according to a report by GlobalData for Vouchercodes. A total of £13.9bn is expected to be spent between 25 and 31 December, down 9% on 2019 and up just 1% on 2020 when many high streets were in lockdown. Online retailers will be the big winners, with over £1bn expected to be spent on Christmas Day alone as shoppers snap up bargains while digesting their festive meals. Angus Drummond, a director at VoucherCodes, said fears of a lockdown had pushed shoppers to buy before Christmas rather than waiting for discounts, a trend that he said would “negatively impact the performance of Boxing Day sales”. Meanwhile, data released by the insolvency firm Begbies Traynor revealed the parlous financial position of 55,000 retailers, bars and restaurants across the UK amid reduced footfall and cancellations during a key trading period. The figure represents an improvement on the same quarter of 2020, but a 2% rise in retailers facing financial difficulty versus the period between July and September, as inflation and supply issues continue to bite. Julie Palmer, a partner at Begbies Traynor, said: “While many bars, restaurants and hotels have flourished since the summer as the UK has reopened … many now face the prospect of trading through what is typically the leanest part of the year with the double whammy of falling trade and very limited government support.” The disappointing sales for the post-Christmas week are likely to pile pressure on businesses that have suffered because of the pandemic and months of high street lockdowns. Cancelled holidays, parties, weddings and other events have also put a dampener on clothing sales, which account for a large chunk of the retail market. City centres appear to have been hit particularly hard by advice to work from home and nervousness about sharing public transport. Data from the retail intelligence firm Springboard on Wednesday showed a 17.3% drop in footfall in central London compared with the same day last week, and regional cities have recorded a 3.4% drop. Ailing finances could lead to a wave of business failures around the latest quarterly rent day, on Christmas Eve. Creditors often step in to secure their cash before the rental bill payouts at a time of the year when businesses are likely to be more flush with cash because of festive spending. Often administrators are not called in until the new year, however, as many leases have a “Santa clause”, which gives leeway on rent payment until after the Christmas holiday. Retailers have not been included in the government’s latest £1bn bailout package, which focused support on hospitality and leisure businesses. Hospitality businesses say that up to £6,000 in grants for each outlet is not enough to make up for lost takings.