'Dire' Boxing Day sales ahead as Brits set to spend £1 billion less than last year
26 December 2022, 08:23 | Updated: 26 December 2022, 08:36
Bargain hunters are expected to snub this year's Boxing Day sales amid poor weather, the cost of living crisis and rail strikes.
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Shoppers are set to spend £1 billion less than last year, experts say.
The "dire" drop of around one tenth is largely because "everyone has less money", according to the Centre for Retail Research.
Director Joshua Bamfield told The Sun: "The train strikes will have a major impact and everyone has less money. Add the snow and ice and it looks pretty dire."
It comes as the Met Office issued two yellow weather warnings and ice alerts across swathes of Scotland.
The Environment Agency also gave 42 active alerts for possible flooding in England.
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A cold start for Boxing Day morning with rain clearing away from the southeast to leave lengthy sunny spells for much of southern, central and eastern England 🌥️
— Met Office (@metoffice) December 25, 2022
Showers will continue in the north and west, these wintry in the north with accumulating snow over high ground 🌧️ pic.twitter.com/TKiAwrQNQ6
But roads are set to be packed as Brits return home from family Christmases and commuters do their best to avoid rail strikes.
The AA said it expects 15.2 million car journeys today alone.
Network Rail announced another day of rail closures due to strikes by the RMT.
Services ended early on Christmas Eve as workers began two days of industrial action over pay offers considered inadequate by union members.
Most rail services do not run on Boxing Day, although operators including Merseyrail and ScotRail provide limited routes.
Neither will run any trains today.
Meanwhile the Met Office's Rachel Ayers said blizzards could hit high ground in parts of Britain.
She said: "Showers, which will be wintry in places, will continue across Scotland, Northern Ireland and far northern England, locally these could be heavy with hail or a thunderstorm possible.
"Any accumulating snow will be mainly over high ground where there is a risk of blizzards. Showers [will ease] into the later part of the afternoon.
"Windy for all, with gales in places especially across the Northern Isles."
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