Majority of Guildford Businesses Report Positive Christmas Trading Performance

Of the 260 businesses surveyed by Experience Guildford, the town’s Business Improvement District:

• 55% (143 businesses) reported a good Christmas or were up year-on-year.
• 29% (75 businesses) said trading was in line with 2024.
• Just 16% (42 businesses) experienced a decline compared with last year.

Performance was particularly strong among independent retailers, with 63% reporting year- on-year growth, compared with 49% of national retail operators. Around half of both independent and national hospitality businesses also reported increased trade.

A key trend was lower footfall but higher spend per visit, suggesting resilient consumer confidence. While some national operators reported wider company-wide pressures, locally the picture remained comparatively positive.

Businesses also highlighted the continued impact of the town’s lack of an anchor store on footfall. Events such as Illuminate Guildford and the Festive Family Fun Day and promotions such as Experience Guildford’s Christmas Privilege Card were praised for supporting trade, while Black Friday was reported to have had limited overall impact on festive performance.

Importantly, local Q4 footfall rose by 6.3%, significantly outperforming the UK average decline of 1.6% year-on-year (MRI Springboard). These results reflect steady resilience across Guildford’s business community during the crucial Golden Quarter.

Experience Guildford’s CEO, Amanda Masters said: The state of the UK’s high streets is always a hot topic. However, what we have seen and heard about the last quarters’ trading, on the whole, Guildford is bucking trends. This is encouraging data and we will continue to monitor the performance of the town centre and support our businesses to keep achieving great results.