Sale Mania

Historically Boxing Day sales were always set to the be the biggest calender date in the retail year. But is that still the case?

With many retailers offering so many deals through out the year and the ongoing impact of online, it might question how effective the traditional Boxing Day sale is.

Well the simple answer is that it hasn't. It is just that the sales are now even more inviting.

On December 26th Debenhams fired the starter gun on its biggest ever Sale with discounts of up to 70% online and in stores. In fact the online sale started 3 days earlier on December 23rd.

John Lewis, B&Q, Comet, Halfords are just some of the retailers to start their clearance sales on Christmas Eve for internet shoppers, giving web consumers a 36 hour head start over those that will hit the high street on December 26.

Debenhams strategy aimed to jump start trade on the high street after poor trading in the lead up to Christmas because of the snow. Among the bargains to be had were:

• Principles by Ben de Lisi Colour Block Coat, was £120, now £60, save £60
• J by Jasper Conran Tailored Dress, was £75, now £37.50, save £37.50
• Raymond Blanc by Anolon hard anodised 4 piece cookware set, was £200, now £100, save £100
• James Martin 5 piece knifeblock, was £90, now £45, save £45
• Men’s Levis 504 slim straight dark worn in jean, was £85, now £42.50, save £42.50
• Rocha John Rocha Leather Harrington jacket in brown, was £199, now £99.50, save £99.50
• Betty Jackson.Black Complete Collection in Lavender or Iris, was £20, now £10, save £10
• Eylure Girls Aloud Eyelash Set, was £25, now £12.50, save £12.50

And it wasn't only Debenhams seeing the benefits of the post snow, post Christmas slump. John Lewis also enjoyed a strong start to its post-Christmas clearance. Online, visitor numbers were up 25% and sales up 45% on Christmas Day itself. Sales peaked between 9pm and 10pm. The online clearance began at 5pm on Christmas Eve and online sales that day were up 42%.

In fact I heard a report on BBC news that stated online retail sales alone amounted to £320 Million alone on the first day of the sales.

Even here in Australia, The Australian Retailers Association predicted $6.3 billion in sales in the first two weeks of the year. The Association's executive director, Richard Evans, says it has been a tough lead-up to Christmas and some shops have already been discounting heavily.



"Retailers have had a difficult year and they've been trying to stimulate shoppers since early November, doing it through a number of means and one of them is the sales, and we've had up to 50 per cent sales pre-Christmas," he said.

And Mr Evans says the sales will get even bigger.

"From the post-Christmas sales I think shoppers can expect up to 70 per cent or even perhaps more off in some cases, specifically in fashion and I would also say that there'd be some really good deals in furniture and domestic appliances," he said.

So it seems that the traditional Boxing Day sale is most certainly still alive and thriving and there are some serious bargains to be had...if you get online and in store fast.