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Summary
- This year, for the first time, Boxing Day sales are starting on X-mas eve.
- Amid COVID-19 induced restrictions, most of the shoppers are expected to shop online, however, physical stores expect their usual customers.
- Consumer NZ cautions buyers to safeguard themselves while shopping online.
Boxing Day sales are set to start much earlier than scheduled, this year. Traditionally, as the name suggests Boxing Day sales starts on December 26th, but this year most stores have kickstarted the sales early.
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Biggest sales event this year
It is going to be the biggest sales event for New Zealanders as due to COVID-19 pandemic, people were waiting to grab cheap deals and are not able to travel to the stores. People are also waiting for boxing day sales to treat themselves after a challenging year that has gone by. This year, since the sales are beginning before Christmas, nearly half of them are waiting to buy their Christmas gifts.
Both Online and in-store options available
Due to coronavirus pandemic, this year people would mostly shop from the comfort of their homes, which would ensure that the sales are not going to suffer.
Both online and in-store options are available, however, not everyone is expected to shop online. Even in-stores options are available as usual, but with a condition that people wear masks, as per the government’s norms.
Briscoes owner Rod Duke said that this year would see maximum deals taking place during the boxing day sale. While, last year, maximum sales were generated during Black Friday.
New Zealanders waiting to buy Christmas gifts
Retailers like Warehouse Group Limited (NZX:WHS) are also expecting a huge response. A survey has found that more than half of New Zealanders are waiting for these sales to buy a Christmas gift, and that these sales are the biggest shopping event for them.
Buyers Need To be Cautious while Online Shopping
While stores are doing aggressive marketing through emails and newspaper advertisement, since a lot of it is going to be online this year, Consumer NZ, an independent, non-profit organisation who works towards providing a faired deal to the Kiwis is concerned that the customers may be misled by shopping online.
Stores need to ensure that they do not misinform about the prices or products. Even the buyers need to protect themselves against any misleading information.
It may be recalled that last year, according to estimates, the New Zealanders spent 4% more on Boxing Day, and overall, it was NZ$150 million less as compared to NZ$253 million spent on Black Friday sales. According to estimates, last year, the sales were far behind Black Friday. This year, they are expecting Boxing Day sales to overtake Black Friday.
