- Written by Nick Edser
- business reporter
Post-Christmas sales may be in full swing, but research suggests shoppers will spend less than last year.
Research from the VoucherCodes website shows consumers are expected to spend £3.7bn on Boxing Day, down 2.9% on the previous year.
Early signs include a slight increase in the number of shoppers visiting stores on Boxing Day compared to last year.
However, Boxing Day sales are no longer considered the major events they once were.
This is mainly due to pre-Christmas events such as Black Friday and early bird discounts available online.
This year, major retailers such as M&S, Next and John Lewis will not reopen their stores until December 27th.
Analysts say rising prices over the past year have squeezed household incomes and mean people are likely to be cautious about selling.
Anita Naik of VoucherCodes said: “The Boxing Day sale offers shoppers one last chance to splurge for the year.”
“But as the nation continues to grapple with soaring prices amid a cost-of-living crisis, this is a luxury many are currently holding back on, so it’s no wonder fewer people are splurging on sales this year.” ”
Overall, £13.5bn is expected to be spent in the week, down 3.8% year-on-year.
By midday on Boxing Day, shopper foot traffic was up 1.4% from a year earlier, according to data from retail research firm MRI Software. This is mainly due to increased foot traffic to high streets and retail parks.
However, foot traffic was still down about 30% compared to 2019 levels.
“This is because many consumers may have started shopping online yesterday evening, and with Black Friday just a few weeks ago, many would have been picking up bargains at the time. , suggesting that online shopping continues to increase,” the company said.
Spending from Nov. 1 to Christmas Eve rose 2.6% from a year earlier, according to separate data from Mastercard.
However, PwC senior retail advisor Kien Tan told the BBC that many retailers were still holding “a lot more stock”.
“The good news for you and me is that there will be even bigger discounts after Christmas,” he said.
The popularity of Boxing Day sales has waned for a while, and Black Friday is starting to become a bigger sales event. People are also more likely to spread their spending over the post-Christmas period.
“The changes in consumer behavior during the Christmas shopping period that we have seen over the past decade continue this year, with shopper demand steadily shifting from Boxing Day to the three-day period from December 27 to 29.” said Diane Wehr. CEO of Rendle Intelligence and Insights.
Given the rise in online shopping, “it’s no surprise that Boxing Day is not as iconic a day as it used to be,” Ware said.
“For many adventurous consumers, it is more of a leisure trip, where the focus is on dining out and the opportunity to browse stores is an added expense.”