The cost-of-living crisis appears to be hitting Brits hard this festive season - as high streets are much quieter than what you’d typically expect to see on Boxing Day.
It comes as a survey of 2,000 adults from BarclayCard revealed that shoppers believe they’ll spend an average of £229 each in the sales this year.
This is down from the average £247 spent during last year’s festive sales.
Rail strikes across the country are also making it increasingly difficult for bargain hunters to travel to their preferred shopping centres.
This may have prompted Brits to opt for an online shop instead - and might be part of the reason why shops seem to have attracted much smaller crowds this year.
BarclayCard's survey also found that 41% of shoppers will turn to reselling platforms to try and bag a bargain, and 28% even plan to make some extra cash through the platforms to resell any unwanted gifts.
Although some shoppers may be holding off on sales in a bid to be more environmentally friendly.
BarclayCard found that half of consumers are also making a conscious effort to purchase less plastic-based goods, up from 26 per cent reported in 2021.
Compared with last year's 27%, over half of Brits (52%) intend to reduce the number of fast fashion purchases they make.
40% of Brits said they will buy from retailers with good sustainability credentials, while 51% would like to support local and smaller businesses, compared with last years 22%.
But Boxing Day still remains one of the most popular days for sales in the UK, as some shopping centres have reported large crowds of bargain hunters populating the stores.
Manchester's Trafford centre is one of them - and appears to be 'rammed' with shoppers on the hunt for bargains, Manchester Evening News has reported.
In Birmingham, some Brits were seen queuing for an hour to benefit from sales in Lush and Merry Hill, with shopping centres starting to attract crowds from 11:30 onwards, Birmingham Live reports.
Harshna Cayley, head of online payments at Barclaycard Payments, said: “The rising cost-of-living and inflationary pressures have naturally had an impact on the amount being spent in the post-Christmas sales this year.
“Having said that, retailers can take confidence knowing that Brits still plan to make the most of the deals and discounts on offer.
“One trend that has emerged this year is the rising popularity of reselling sites.
“Many consumers intend to make the most of these platforms by adopting a love-it or list-it approach to Christmas gifts they receive, while also searching them to snap up ‘second-hand’ unloved bargains.
“It will be interesting to see how sales volumes to these sites are impacted as cost conscious shoppers make use of them.”
