Britons spend Boxing Day... spending
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Shoppers defied the cold and a Tube strike in London to splash the cash, as some shopping centres boasted their busiest Sunday of the year. But laws restricting retailers to six hours of trading caught out many people.
Analysts expect much higher sales today, with extended openings and major chains such as John Lewis and Next kicking off their clearance sales.
After the snow hampered festive trading, retailers have rolled out an avalanche of hefty discounts to get consumers spending ahead of VAT rising to 20 per cent on 4 January. The British Retail Consortium expects consumers to spend £5bn between Boxing Day and New Year's Eve.
Two of the biggest shopping centres reported a roaring start to clearance sales. Milton Keynes said that by 1pm footfall had already beaten this year's previous Sunday high by 143 per cent, while Bluewater expected 100,000 visitors. Some queued for 12 hours to get into London's Selfridges, which expected 80,000 visitors yesterday.
Meanwhile, a 26-year-old man was arrested after a 19-year-old man was shot in Birmingham's Bullring centre yesterday afternoon.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments