Shops braced for £3.6bn Boxing Day bonanza

Whether shivering in queues before dawn or surfing the internet at home, families are expected to do their best to give home-grown retail chains and independents a much-needed boost.

Echoing the Daily Express’s Save Our High Street crusade, Andrew Goodacre, CEO of the British Independent Retailers Association, said: “Boxing Day has become one of the important days of the retail calendar.

“And this year is the first festive period unaffected by Covid since 2019, so we are hoping to see a much-needed boost to high streets throughout the UK.

“The high street has suffered due to Covid and now the cost-of-living crisis.

“And so these next few days are crucial for the retail businesses as we all know that January and February will be very quiet.”

Website VoucherCodes predicts that today’s cash splash will bring in £3.6billion with 20.8 million people shopping today. This is about a fifth more than the amount spent on Black Friday this year when a predicted £3billion was splurged.

Last year, many avoided the Boxing Day sales amid concerns over the surging Omicron Covid variant. Visits to high streets, shopping centres and retail parks visits were all down more than 45 percent on pre-pandemic levels, according to footfall specialists, Springboard.

But today more than 13 million bargain-hunters were waking up early to get the first pick of stock.

Physical stores are set to take £2.3 billion in sales today, which will help keep small businesses across the country alive and help them to thrive as we head into the quiet months of January and February.

Tina McKenzie, of the Federation of Small Businesses, told the Daily Express: “We’re asking everyone to think small and check out the great value products and services offered by independent firms, for whom every sale really, really counts.

“Small firms have weathered a cost of doing business crisis that is still very much ongoing, and linked to the cost of living crisis hitting households, in fact, small business owners are feeling the squeeze on both sides.”

Kate Nicholls, Chief Executive of UK Hospitality, said: “Our pubs, bars, cafes, and restaurants need all the help and support they can get.” It has been predicted that almost half of shops will close by 2030.”