1. Boxing Day takes place in Great Britain the day after Christmas. A lot of people only care about it because of the sales it brings.
Shoppers “queued” outside London’s famous Selfridges department store overnight, where items will be sold for up to 75% off the usual price. They’ve still got nothing on American Black Friday shoppers, who have been known to camp out for days in advance.
2. U.K. shoppers are expected to spend around £2.9 billion, or $4.7 billion, on Boxing Day sales this year.
Black Friday sales in the U.S. were around $59 billion.
3. Like in the U.S., people in the U.K. have been injured because of the day’s massive crowds and confusion.
An 18-year-old boy was stabbed to death in front of Boxing Day shoppers in 2011; the conflict was attributed to gang violence, but Boxing Day chaos contributed as well. And this year, train drivers in Central London are striking because of a lack of “quality time” around the holidays, causing delays and traffic jams for shoppers.
4. Unlike Black Friday, however, Boxing Day comprises a bunch of other traditions in addition to bargain-hunting, like the Tenby Boxing Day Swim in Wales.
Really, wouldn’t you rather dive headfirst into the freezing ocean than tear out some woman’s hair for the chance to buy a half-off perfume?
6. Wouldn’t horses and fascinators make sale-fueled shopping madness 10 million times better?
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melissak26 5 months agoI used to work for a British company (Lush) here is the U.S., and we did a Boxing Day sale every year. The real reason for it is because our skin and hair care products have a short shelf life, so we do an end-of-the-year sale to get all the old product out and fresh new product in for the New Year…so they just figured why not make it a Boxing Day sale! And it works…old out, new in.
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NippyBurns 5 months agoUmm I’m English and your Black Friday is not really comparable to our Boxing Day. Our Winter sales just start on Boxing Day and many like to get a head start. The discounts are not limited to that day alone, they usually run till the end of January. I know for sure anything I’ve seen advertised at a sale price today will still be available in 2 weeks at the same price.
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