Traders pinning hopes on £3bn bumper Boxing Day bonanza

RETAILERS are hoping for a bumper Boxing Day after fewer people went into shops on Christmas Eve amid the cost-of-living crisis and Sunday trading hours.

- Emily Braeger

Footfall across all UK retail destinations up to 5pm on Sunday was 6.8% lower than last week and 20.6% lower than last year, data from industry analyst MRI Software shows.

Experts are predicting that bargain-hunters will splurge £3.68 billion in the sales today, despite footfall over the festive weekend lower by at least a third than levels in 2019.

Echoing the Daily Express's Save Our High Street crusade, chief executive of the British Independent Retailers Association Andrew Goodacre said: "For many years, Boxing Day has been a sales opportunity for retailers. This year could see more discounts than ever for shoppers as retailers look to end a difficult year on a high.

Thrive

"In reality, many retailers had already started discounting pre-Christmas as they look to maximise the festive period shopping bonanza and generate as much income as possible." Website VoucherCodes predicts that 22.5 million people will shop today, a 700,000 increase on last year.