Editing Boxing Day (section)

== Shopping ==

[[File:Boxing Day at the Toronto Eaton Centre (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Boxing Day crowds shopping at the [[Toronto Eaton Centre]] in Canada, 2007]]

In the United Kingdom,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/boxing-day-sales-soar-as-shoppers-flock-to-malls-429935.html |title = Boxing Day sales soar as shoppers flock to malls |author = Terry Kirby |date = 27 December 2006 |access-date =17 December 2009 | location=London |work=The Independent }}</ref> Canada,<ref name="ctv.ca">{{cite web |url=http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/CTVNewsAt11/20051226/boxing_day_051226/ |title=Boxing Day expected to rake in $1.8&nbsp;billion |date=26 December 2005 |access-date=17 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228163816/http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/CTVNewsAt11/20051226/boxing_day_051226 |archive-date=28 December 2010 }}</ref> Australia,<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/12/26/boxing-day-sales-top-2bn-retailers | title = Boxing Day sales to top $2bn: retailers | date=26 December 2014|access-date =26 December 2014 | publisher =[[Special Broadcasting Service]]}}</ref> New Zealand,<ref>{{cite web | url = http://i.stuff.co.nz/business/75337680/boxing-day-still-big-for-bargain-hunters-despite-prechristmas-retail-sales | title = Boxing Day still big for bargain hunters despite pre-christmas retail sales | date=21 December 2015 |access-date =22 December 2015 | publisher=Stuff}}</ref> and Trinidad and Tobago, Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. Boxing Day sales are common, and shops often allow dramatic price reductions. For many merchants, Boxing Day has become the day of the year with the greatest revenue. In the UK, it was estimated in 2009 that up to 12 million shoppers appeared at the sales (a rise of almost 20% compared to 2008, although this was also affected by the fact that the [[VAT]] was about to revert to 17.5% from 1 January, following the temporary reduction to 15%).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8432144.stm |title=Boxing Day sales attract 'record' number of shoppers |work=BBC News |date=28 December 2009 |access-date=26 December 2010}}</ref>

Many retailers open very early (typically 5&nbsp;am or even earlier) and offer [[doorbuster]] deals and [[loss leader]]s to draw people to their stores. It is not uncommon for long queues to form early in the morning of 26 December, hours before the opening of shops holding the big sales, especially at [[Big-box store|big-box consumer electronics]] retailers.<ref name="ctv.ca" /> Many stores have a limited quantity of big draw or deeply discounted items.<ref name="toronto.ctv.ca">{{cite web |url=http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20071213/boxing_day_071213?hub=EdmontonHome |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090827232435/http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20071213/boxing_day_071213?hub=EdmontonHome |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 August 2009 |title = How to become a Boxing Day shopping pro |date = 25 December 2007 |author = Ashleigh Patterson |access-date =17 December 2009}}</ref> Because of the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, many choose to stay at home and avoid the hectic shopping experience. Local media often covers the event, mentioning how early the shoppers began queuing up and showing videos of shoppers queuing and later leaving with their purchased items.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/boxing-day-begins-with-early-rush-of-bargain-hunters-1.268977 |title=Boxing Day begins with early rush of bargain hunters |author=toronto.ctv.ca |date=26 December 2007 |access-date=17 December 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106173035/http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20071226/Boxing_Day_071226/ |archive-date=6 January 2012 }}</ref> Many retailers have implemented practices aimed at managing large numbers of shoppers. They may limit entrances, restrict the number of patrons in a store at a time, provide tickets to people at the head of the queue to guarantee them a hot ticket item, or canvass queued-up shoppers to inform them of inventory limitations.<ref name="toronto.ctv.ca" />

In some areas of Canada, particularly in [[Atlantic Canada]] and parts of [[Northern Ontario]], most retailers are prohibited from opening on Boxing Day, either by provincial law or by municipal [[bylaw]], or by informal agreement among major retailers, to provide a day of relaxation following Christmas Day. In these areas, sales otherwise scheduled for 26 December are moved to the 27th.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geschenkhexe.ch/media/archive/Boxing-Day-The-Debate-Continues.html|title=Boxing Day, The Debate Continues|author=soonews.ca|date=22 December 2007|access-date=26 December 2009|archive-date=17 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517115539/http://www.geschenkhexe.ch/media/archive/Boxing-Day-The-Debate-Continues.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=26 December 2009|title=Boxing Day madness: shoppers descend on stores looking for deals|url=https://www.cp24.com/boxing-day-madness-shoppers-descend-on-stores-looking-for-deals-1.468130|access-date=8 April 2021|website=CP24|language=en}}</ref> The city council of [[Greater Sudbury]], Ontario, which was the largest city in Canada to maintain this restriction as of the early 2010s, formally repealed its store hours bylaw on 9 December 2014.<ref>[http://www.thesudburystar.com/2014/12/09/council-repeals-sudburys-store-hours-byline "Council repeals Sudbury's store hours bylaw"]. ''[[Sudbury Star]]'', 10 December 2014.</ref>

While Boxing Day is 26 December, many retailers run the sales for several days before or after 26 December, often up to New Year's Eve, branding it as "Boxing Week". Notably, in [[Late 2000s recession|the recession of late 2008]], a record number of retailers held early promotions because of the weak economy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20081221/Shopping_Deals_081222/|title=Boxing Day comes early as shoppers search for deals|date=21 December 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106141332/http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20081221/Shopping_Deals_081222/|archive-date=6 January 2012|access-date=17 December 2009}}</ref> In 2009, many retailers with both online and [[High Street]] stores launched their online sales on Christmas Eve and their High Street sales on Boxing Day.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geschenkhexe.ch/media/archive/IMRG-Press-Release-120m-to-be-spent-Online-on-Christmas-Day-2009.html|title=Many retailers' sales to start on Christmas Eve|author=IMRG|date=22 December 2009|access-date=22 December 2009|archive-date=17 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517120205/http://www.geschenkhexe.ch/media/archive/IMRG-Press-Release-120m-to-be-spent-Online-on-Christmas-Day-2009.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/christmas/6858609/Boxing-Day-sales-start-on-Christmas-Eve.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/christmas/6858609/Boxing-Day-sales-start-on-Christmas-Eve.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Boxing Day sales start on Christmas Eve|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=22 December 2009|access-date=22 December 2009|location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

=== Comparisons to Black Friday ===

In terms of seasonal or holiday shopping traditions, Boxing Day sales have been compared to the US phenomenon of [[Black Friday (shopping)|Black Friday]] sales{{snds}}Black Friday being the Friday following the American [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]] holiday in late November. In the late 2000s, when the [[Canadian dollar|Canadian]] and [[United States dollar]]s were near parity, many Canadian retailers began to hold Black Friday promotions in an effort to discourage shoppers from crossing the [[Canada–United States border|border]] to visit United States stores. This may have been a contributory factor, since 2013, in a relative decline of traditional Canadian Boxing Day sales, when compared to sales on Black Friday.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://financialpost.com/news/retail-marketing/inside-the-shopping-extravaganza-that-black-friday-has-become-in-canada|title=Inside the shopping extravaganza that Black Friday has become in Canada|date=23 November 2016|website=Financial Post|language=en-CA|access-date=7 January 2020|last1=Shaw|first1=Hollie}}</ref>

The traditional Boxing Day sales in the United Kingdom were never as large an event as the Black Friday sales are in the United States. However, many British retailers began to see an opportunity to import the Black Friday tradition into the UK, not to replace Boxing Day sales, but as an addition to their overall seasonal promotions. However, Black Friday and Boxing Day are close enough together that spending on one sale was likely to affect spending on the other. Ultimately, the result was a marked decline in traditional Boxing Day sales in the UK. The change was initially facilitated, although not necessarily by design, by U.S.-owned retailers such as [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]], and [[Asda]] (then a subsidiary of US-based [[Walmart]]). This phenomenon was furthered by a general decline in traditional high-street shopping and a growing online marketplace, which is more international by nature. This led, in 2015, to greater November retail sales in the UK than in December for the first time.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46260739|title=Have eight years of Black Friday changed the UK?|last=Jones|first=Lora|date=21 November 2018|work=BBC News|access-date=7 January 2020|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/26/what-is-black-friday-biggest-uk-shopping-day|title=What is Black Friday and who's to blame for it?|last=Ruddick|first=Graham|date=26 November 2015|work=The Guardian|access-date=7 January 2020|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> In 2019, a retail analysis firm estimated that there was a 9.8% drop in British store traffic on Boxing Day in comparison to 2018 (the largest year-over-year drop since 2010), citing several factors, such as the weather, the increased prominence of [[online shopping]], uncertainties in the wake of the [[2019 United Kingdom general election|general election]], and the growing prominence of Black Friday sales.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/dec/26/boxing-day-footfall-dip-blamed-on-poor-weather-and-black-friday|title=Boxing Day sales dip blamed on poor weather and Black Friday|last=Wood|first=Zoe|date=26 December 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=7 January 2020|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

Boxing Day sales are not a prominent tradition in the United States, although many retailers often begin after-Christmas sales that day. It is typically the earliest starting day after Christmas for people to return unwanted gifts for exchanges or refunds and to redeem [[gift card]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|last=McCamish|first=Bethany|date=29 March 2021|title=What Is The Best Shopping Day After Christmas? We've Got The Answer|url=https://www.themoneymanual.com/what-is-the-best-shopping-day-after-christmas/|access-date=27 April 2021|website=The Money Manual|language=en-US}}</ref>