Boxing Day sales set to plummet for second year running

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

The research, commissioned by VoucherCodes.co.uk and carried out by the Centre for Retail Research (CRR), reveals that purchases in-store are expected to total £3.25bn for Boxing Day 2019, which is 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.

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However, despite the decrease in shoppers heading in-store 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 December 26-31, with the average household spending £458.90 over the sales period.

Anita Naik, Lifestyle Editor at VoucherCodes.co.uk 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.

“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.

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“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.

View findings from the Boxing Day report at Boxing Day 2019 January sales