‘Price-conscious’ buyers set to spend £3.6bn in Boxing Day gross sales

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Your help makes all of the distinction. Learn extra Buyers collaborating on this yr’s Boxing Day gross sales plan to spend simply over £250 on common – however fewer individuals are planning to participate within the reductions bonanza in contrast with final yr – a survey suggests.

The common Boxing Day shopper plans to spend £253 this yr, up from £236 in 2024, Barclays discovered.

Simply over 1 / 4 (26%) of individuals surveyed plan to spend on Boxing Day this yr, down from 28% in 2024.

Barclays predicted that folks will spend £3.6 billion throughout this yr’s Boxing Day gross sales, lower than the £4.6 billion it predicted in 2024.

Garments, sneakers and equipment are on the prime of buyers’ want lists this yr, its survey analysis suggests, adopted by food and drinks, magnificence merchandise, homeware and discounted Christmas objects.

1 / 4 (25%) of individuals will solely purchase what they contemplate to be “necessities” within the gross sales.

Retail’s “golden quarter” – which incorporates Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the post-Christmas gross sales, is historically a time for customers to select up a cut price.

However in indicators that buyers’ budgets stay stretched, seven in 10 (69%) folks within the newest survey stated price pressures are affecting their spending, up from 47% when comparable analysis was carried out in 2024.

Opinium Analysis carried out the newest survey amongst 2,000 folks throughout the UK in November.

Two-fifths (37%) of individuals surveyed for Barclays stated they use AI (synthetic intelligence) and/or “sensible” instruments when buying, rising to greater than half (53%) of individuals aged 18 to 34.

Individuals stated that AI and sensible instruments assist them to analysis merchandise, examine costs and offers, generate reward concepts and arrange personalised alerts.

The analysis indicated that for many individuals, the expertise offers reassurance and effectivity – 72% stated it saves time by narrowing down the perfect offers – however half (50%) stated they're involved that AI instruments could encourage overspending.

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Karen Johnson, head of retail at Barclays, stated: “Buyers have demonstrated simply how cost-conscious they're all through 2025, and we count on that we’ll see this play out through the Boxing Day gross sales, notably with AI empowering customers to buy smarter and hunt down the perfect offers.

“Regardless of this, many nonetheless benefit from the social and sensory expertise of visiting shops. People who do hit the excessive avenue may profit each from greater budgets, maybe having held out for the gross sales, and probably much less competitors, from fewer gross sales buyers.

“Boxing Day remains to be a pivotal second for retailers, fuelled by Christmas nostalgia, but it surely has developed to mirror trendy client calls for.