Boxing Day sales could hit $2.5 billion

Millions of shoppers will hit the high street today to spend as much as £3.74 billion in the Boxing Day sales.

Thousands of eager Aussie bargain hunters are expected to line up well before dawn to snare prime position ahead of the Boxing Day sales frenzy, with punters set to splurge up to $2.5 billion.

Online sales are set to be up by 13 per cent on past year.

Among the big discounters are department stores Harrods, Selfridges, Liberty and House of Fraser, while Marks & Spencer and Next have both launched price cuts of up to 50%.

Sylvia Park in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest enclosed mall, will welcome 70,000 to 80,000 shoppers through its doors on Boxing Day, manager Jonathan Douglas told NZ Newswire.

NSW and Victorian shoppers are expected to lead the way on spending this Boxing Day, snapping up $750 million and $721 million worth of bargains respectively.

ARA executive director Russell Zimmerman said sales were tipped to surge in News South Wales after laws were recently passed to allow Boxing Day trading throughout the state, after previously being limited to Sydney’s CBD and eastern suburbs.

Follow this live blog for updates throughout the morning on which stores are offering deals, pictures of the queues so you can beat the crowds, and crucial traffic information and vehicle parking details, so Boxing Day sales doesn’t have to be a stressful one for you.

“Incidents of violence, threats and abuse against shopworkers are already worryingly high, so my message to shoppers is clear”.

David Jones expect a million people to shop in their stores across Australia on Boxing Day with another million expected to use their online shopping site.

New Zealanders spent more than $147 million up to 1pm on Christmas Eve according to electronic transaction company Paymark, with more than half a million transactions an hour during the shopping peak.

A survey by Which? found 44% of shoppers incorrectly believed they had a legal right to a refund if they changed their mind.