Boxing Day sales to plummet for second year running

Abigail Fenton
·Writer
Photo: Heidi Fin/Unsplash
Online sales are expected to rise as shoppers shun the high street on Boxing Day. Photo: Heidi Fin/Unsplash

Shoppers are set to shun the high street on Boxing Day, as in-store sales are forecast to fall on 26 December for the second year in a row, according to a new report.

Research, commissioned by VoucherCodes and carried out by the Centre for Retail Research (CRR), found purchases in-store are expected to total £3.25bn for Boxing Day 2019, a decrease of 12.4% compared to last year.

This continues the trend in dropping figures from 2018, where in-store sales were down by 6.5% on the 2017 spending total.

READ MORE: When do the Boxing Day sales start? Next, Currys, Amazon and ASOS details

However, despite the decrease in shoppers heading to the high street for Boxing Day bargains, online sales are expected to rise. Internet purchases are forecast to hit £1.14bn this year, with 58% of transactions being made on mobile devices. This represents an increase of 10% compared to 2018.

With discounts also on offer throughout the festive period, the report anticipates total online and offline expenditure will reach £14bn between 26 and 31 December, with the average household spending £458.90 over the sales period.

Anita Naik at VoucherCodes said: “With the growing popularity of other discount days in the weeks leading up to Christmas, such as Black Friday and Singles’ Day, there may be an element of shopper fatigue by the time we get to the Boxing Day sales.

READ MORE: Black Friday vs. Boxing Day – which is the better bargain?

“However, there are still some great deals to be had during the December sales, and the switch from offline to online purchases shows that people are choosing to capitalise on this from the comfort of their own homes. If you’re feeling a bit worse for wear post-Christmas, or you can’t face heading to the shops, it helps that retailers will also be offering discounts online.

“In order to make the most of the deals on offer, be sure to sign up to alerts from your favourite retailers so you don’t miss a thing. It’s also handy to make a list of items that you think you might want – or might not have got as a Christmas present – so you only spend money on items you really think you need.”