Boxing Day in the UK means only one thing to many people – shopping! As the majority of commercial properties on the high street open their doors as early as 5am to allow customers to take advantage of dramatically dropped prices, it’s hardly surprising that Boxing Day has become one of the days of the year which produces the greatest revenue for merchants.
In fact, recent years’ statistics indicate that Boxing Day is the single busiest shopping day of the year in the UK, with an estimated 12 million shoppers taking to the streets in 2009, a 20% rise from the previous year. Due to the volume of crowds and limited deals, it is not uncommon for huge queues to form outside larger established chain stores in larger cities such as Manchester and London, as was seen outside Selfridges in Oxford Street this year. This virtually gridlocked the shopping epicentre of the nation’s capital, and called into question the safety of ‘mob shopping’ after video footage showed customers stampeding into the store.
Because of potential safety risks, up to and even including injury and death by crushing, many of the most popular stores on Boxing Day have introduced measures to control large numbers of shoppers, especially in the UK where the cold weather too often leads to hot tempers. Ideas such as limiting entrances, restricting the number of customers allowed in the store at a time and providing people at the head of the queue with tickets that guarantee them purchase of a ‘hot ticket’ item have all been trialled in nations where the Boxing Day Sales have been highlighted as a safety concern.
Across the pond in the United States, Boxing Day does not produce the retail frenzy sparked here in the UK. Instead, ‘Black Friday’ dominates sales statistics. This is the day after Thanksgiving, which brings in the Christmas season officially, with stores across the country opening as early as 4am to allow shoppers to take advantage of the pre-Christmas sales. This was taken to a new extreme this year, however, as some of America’s best known retail chains, such as Target, Macy’s and Best Buy to name a few, took the decision to open at the stroke of midnight following Thanksgiving Day.
Yet for those who do not wish to fight their way through hordes of people to claim their bargains, all is not lost. The phenomenon that is online shopping means that shoppers can now take advantage of great offers from the comfort of their own homes. Online giants such as Amazon and Play.com will face off against traditional commercial property based shops, for example Topshop and New Look, in what is predicted to be the largest online shopping extravaganza Britain has ever seen. This month also saw Cyber Monday break records, with online shoppers spending a record-breaking average of £19 million per hour throughout the 5th December.
Whether you decide to brave the crowds on the high street, or battle for a bargain online, remember safety guidelines set out for both situations. Wrap up warmly, especially when queuing outside stores, and only ever enter credit card details over the internet when the page you are visiting is secure. Boxing Day 2011 looks set to be one of the biggest shopping events of the century so far, so whether you join in physically or via the internet, happy shopping!
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