Black Friday lifts UK retail sales despite income squeeze Read moreThe 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. Selfridges’ tills banked £4m in the first three hours of its sale with the retailer reporting that Boxing Day would be its biggest trading day of the year after 120,000 shoppers trekked to the London store. Photograph: Matt Alexander/PAIn the run-up to Christmas fewer people visited the shops to buy their gifts and that trend continued on Boxing Day. The New West End Company predicted that more than £50m would be spent there on Boxing Day alone, up 4% on 2016. “The Boxing Day sales have become a tradition for domestic customers but we also predict a high number of international visitors will take advantage of currency fluctuations and low-cost flights to come to the West End,” said Jace Tyrrell, chief executive of New West End Company, who predicted West End stores would rake in £190m over the Boxing Day week.

Source: The Guardian December 26, 2017 13:24 UTC