Boxing Day sales: When centres full of bargains will be open and traders hope for a festive boost

Now Shropshire's two biggest shopping centres - the Darwin Centre in Shrewsbury, and Telford Centre - are both open with thousands of shoppers expected to descend in the hunt for post-Christmas bargains. Telford Centre is open from 9am to 6pm.

Kevin Lockwood, manager of Shrewsbury's Darwin Centre, said they would be looking forward to welcoming shoppers from 10am today, with the centre open until 5pm.

He said that the run-up to Christmas had been positive, with retailers reporting average consumer spend going up, and footfall figures also improving on last year.

He said that despite the continuing challenge of online sales, the tradition of Boxing Day shopping remains a firm favourite with customers.

"Generally people after Christmas Day like a bit of fresh air and what better way than coming into the town centre, doing a bit of shopping, grab a coffee and have some family time?"

He added that although retailers have increasingly started sales before Boxing Day in an attempt to capture the pre-Christmas custom, the majority still save their best deals for Boxing Day, and the week between Christmas and New Year.

He said the centre was looking forward to a busy week and a positive 2024.

Shrewsbury has seen two good months in the build-up to Christmas with sales up 15 per cent in November after a slower October, which was itself an increase of five per cent year-on-year.

In December's figures, footfall was up 18 per cent last week compared to the previous week, and 13 per cent up compared to the same week in 2022. Year on year, Shrewsbury's weekly footfall outperformed that of similar market towns.

Seb Slater, executive director of Shrewsbury BID, which represents around 500 businesses, said: “We have welcomed dozens of new businesses to the town centre throughout this year, and it’s great to see very few empty units as we get into the peak shopping season of the year.

“From national chains to small independent retailers, Shrewsbury is continuing to add to its fantastic array of shops, bars and restaurants.

“St Mary’s Street, Wyle Cop and Pride Hill are either at or very close to full occupancy, and we understand any empty units are quickly attracting interest.

“There’s no doubt that the trading environment is tough at the moment, but Shrewsbury’s national appeal has been clear to see with the number of new businesses moving to the town during the past 12 months.

“The shopping experience in Shrewsbury is better than ever during the Christmas period, with a wonderful festive atmosphere, so we would urge people to please support their local traders rather than doing their Christmas shopping online.”

Jodie Deakin, secretary of Ludlow Chamber of Trade, said she is hoping for a surge in January sales.

Jodie, of eclectica of Ludlow, in Mill Street goes into sales mode on January 2 and they are hoping that the festive trade will help see them through the quieter months of January and February.

She said: "We are fortunate here in Ludlow that we seem to be a tad protected from the national trends, and have weathered Covid and Brexit rather well.

"That said, the cost of living issues do appear to be nipping at our heels - myself and those fellow Chamber members I've spoken to are experiencing a flatter Christmas than we would have liked.

"The festive months have in the past seen us through the quieter months of January and February, so this year I will be hoping for a surge in the January sales - we go into sale on January 2. It is a crucial time for us after a flat December."

Jodie also urged shoppers, if they prefer to shop online, to seek out the websites of independent traders, rather than the large multinationals.

"We offer services that the big internet firms do not, including free returns - and we don't have the same problems with delivery companies posting to the wrong addresses.

"We don't offer next-day delivery, but Ludlow has a Slow Food Movement, so perhaps we could have a slow but quality delivery movement."

Monika Curry, co-owner of Bodenhams of Ludlow, said: "Although we have also experienced slightly flatter December than last year, we feel that we and our staff worked incredibly hard this year and deserve a couple of days off.

"As a small independent family business, we are trying to maintain some work-life balance for our staff, which is becoming incredibly difficult if we need to compete with chain shops.

"We are starting our sale on Wednesday at 11am. Ludlow is a small market town and we have loyal customers who will happily wait the extra day for our sale."

December has seen some fantastic turnouts at pre-Christmas events across Shropshire and there is evidence that this positivity has led to customers getting into the festive spirit early on, despite cost of living pressures.

North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan said: “North Shropshire is made up of wonderful market towns like Oswestry, which do very well on Christmas footfall. By all accounts it’s been a busy month for the high street, and that seems set to continue with people waiting for the post-Christmas sales.

“It isn’t an easy time to run a business at the moment, with costs still high and many people in our community having to watch the pennies more. I think that makes it all the more important to support our small businesses and independents, something that - based on how busy our market towns are - seems to be very much happening."

And in Shrewsbury, her Lib Dem party colleague Councillor Alex Wagner reports seeing people out and about, with the county town bustling.

He said: "Town has been really bustling over the Christmas period, with lots of people out and about. Whether Boxing Day and New Year’s Day in particular are important, I don’t know, but the festive spirit is definitely in the air.

“One of the things I love about Shrewsbury is how people are keen to shop local and vote with their feet – the Wyle Cop still retains its crown as the longest row of independent businesses in the whole country, and long may that continue!”

Councillor Mark Jones, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member for growth and regeneration encouraged people to spend with local businesses instead of online.

He said: “I encourage Shropshire’s residents to support their local businesses in the coming weeks as choosing to shop and spend locally will help local businesses and protect and create jobs.

"Research shows that if every adult in Shropshire spent £3.80 a week in local shops rather than with international retailers online, it would boost the county’s economy by £1 million a week.”