Boxing Day sales: shoppers spend big but footfall down on last year

Millions of Britons have enjoyed a last hurrah in the Boxing Day sales with determined shoppers camping out in the early hours to secure the best bargains although crowds were smaller than in previous years. Shoppers started queuing outside branches of high street chain Next at 12.30am while on Oxford Street, in London a crowd started forming outside Selfridges at 2.30am. However, retail experts said that overall shopper numbers were significantly down on 2016. Black Friday lifts UK retail sales despite income squeeze Read more The power of the Boxing Day sales has been diminished in recent years due to a combination of internet discount extravaganzas such as November’s Black Friday and the fact that major stores such as Marks & Spencer and John Lewis start their sales online on Christmas Eve. But even if crowds were thinner, shopping centre owners reported brisk trade as those who did venture out spent more. “People like to come sale shopping because it is the thrill of the kill,” said Tom Nathan, general manager at Brent Cross, one of London’s biggest shopping centres. “Some chains have also held back putting discounted items online, which has forced people out from behind their computers.”