Boxing Day, in previous years, was the only time to grab a massive deal around Christmas. Recently that’s all changed, with the BBC reporting that Black Friday has taken over and made the most profit for stores in the UK for 2014.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be any incredible boxing day sales this year though.
Like normal, shops across the country will be opening their doors up early and slashing their prices for you to grab a deal after you’ve finished digesting your Christmas turkey. And not only will they be showing off sales aplenty in their physical stores, but they’ll also be broadcasting them online for those of us who just can’t drag ourselves out of bed for the day. Which is, let’s face it, the majority of us.
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Where Are The Best UK Boxing Day Sales 2014?
So you’ve been given £20 from your great Aunt Betty, and you want to find out where to spend it. Well, later in this post I’ll show you where you’re going wrong already, but for now I’ll give you a list of the best boxing day sales of 2014 (online and instore!)
Of course Amazon was going to lead this list. Their Black Friday deals were nothing to be sniffed at – for example I got an Xbox One with 2 Assassin’s Creed games and 2 controllers all for just £279 (and yes, I have told that to absolutely everyone I know, and now the whole of the internet!). Rumour has it their Boxing Day UK sales are going to be just as massive, and they’re already promoting it’s page:
Wait, you thought Boxing Day was only one day? HA! Maybe back when you parents were kids, but it’s 2014 now and our lives are much more materialistic! Expect to see at least a solid week of Boxing Day deals from Amazon, with other retailers following suit. Not only will they drop prices on a few things for an extended period of time, but they’ll also put on flash ‘lightning deals’ throughout the day. These lightning deals give you the chance to grab that thing you really want at a massively reduced price, but only for a few hours. There’s always a limited supply of the deal, and some sell-out within seconds, so make sure you’re quick on your mouse clicking!
Currys
Currys and PC World are notorious for starting their Boxing Day Deals early – in 2013 they began at 7pm on Christmas Eve! Obviously that was online, and it’ll give you the chance to plan what you’ll maybe order online or go instore to get on Boxing Day. Although there’s no official word on when they’ll open up, Currys Boxing Day Opening Hours are normally 9am – 7pm. I’ll update this if they announce otherwise for this year!
Very have a Christmas page up, and come Boxing Day it should be showing some fantastic deals. You can take a look at what they have on right now, if you’re looking for some last minute deals on some Christmas gifts.
Next always have an insane Boxing Day sale, usually with queues around their building of shoppers waiting for the doors to open from as early as 6am! If we assume the 2014 Next Boxing Day sale will follow the lead of the 2013 one, Next Boxing Day opening hours should begin at 6am – 6pm in some stores (if they’re not housed in a shopping centre that opens later than that). I’ll update if there are any changes though.
Currently Next don’t have any Christmas or Boxing Day deals pages, so for now I’ll post their Clearance sale in it’s place. Check back for updates when the Boxing Day deals page does arrive!
John Lewis are ‘never knowingly undersold’, so you can bet they’ll be matching any prices you find elsewhere this Boxing Day. They’ll be putting on a sale of their own, but if you spot a great price on something you want elsewhere and would rather get it from John Lewis, if you can prove the price to them they’ll match it so you can get it from them. John Lewis Boxing Day opening times should be the same as most other retailers, 9am-6pm, but I’ll update this if they announce otherwise.
Although they don’t have their own John Lewis Boxing Day Deals page just yet, they do have a Christmas offers page which I’ll use until their Boxing Day sale goes live:
GAME put on some fantastic deals for Black Friday – so good in fact that the amount of people rushing to their website all at once crashed it! They’ll likely be more prepared for their Boxing Day sale online though, and the GAME Boxing Day opening times will probably be 9am – 6pm. I’ll update if there’s any changes to this though.
I don’t even need to mention to you how crazy Tesco’s Black Friday sale was in the UK this year. Ridiculous. If you feel like being a part of the manic pushing, shoving and shouting for their Boxing Day sale, Tesco Boxing Day opening times for most of their stores this year will be 9am – 6pm. They will likely have their best deals online here though:
What Is Boxing Day?
Boxing Day is a truly British tradition, invented in the UK over 800 years ago. Although you could argue it stems from our overwhelming desire to get more than one day off work for Christmas (hey, can you really blame us?), there are arguments about how it was originally created.
Some say it was the day the Church collected money for the needy for Christmas in boxes, hence the name. Others say it was the day that masters gave their servants time to celebrate Christmas with their family along with a ‘Christmas Box’ as a present. My parents used to tell me that it was the day we threw the Christmas present boxes away, although I’m pretty certain now that was just a lie to get me to tidy up as a kid…
When Is Boxing Day 2014?
Boxing Day is always the day after Christmas – December 26th. This year it’s Friday December 26th 2014.
Can You Really Get A Good Boxing Day Deal Or A January Sales Bargain?
Yes, yes you can. But only if you know what you’re doing. Retailers have some shady tricks to tempt you into buying a ‘bargain’ that’s really just the thing you want at it’s regular price. How? They’re sneaky. They up the price a crazy amount for a while within 6 months of Boxing Day and the January Sales, then drop the price to it’s usual amount and pop on a red ‘DEAL’ sticker.
Yes this is legal. Yes we think this is terrible. Yes, they really shouldn’t be allowed to do it, but they are.
So how can you make sure you’re not duped on the day? You need to follow our Boxing Day advice.
Boxing Day Advice – How To Get The Best Deals
There’s definitely an art to this, and no, it doesn’t include wasting your Christmas day evening camping outside the Apple store.
- Know What You Want: So back to that £20 you got from your great Aunt Betty. Flailing that around in the air and announcing to retailers that you want a good deal isn’t really going to get you anywhere. You probably won’t be able to spot the sneaky ‘dupe deals’ I mentioned above from the real gems, and you could even wind up losing money. So make a list of the things you’d actually be happy to buy, cross off the ones you get on Christmas day, and prepare for Boxing Day deals advice stage 2…
. - Compare Some Prices: Oh I know you don’t want to be doing this just before or on Christmas day, but hear me out. See what the regular price of it is from a bunch of different retailers, and get a feel for what an actual deal would be. Just to give you an idea, here are some of the top Chromebooks of 2014 with their prices compared. You’re welcome. Do that for everything you want, decide how much you’d be willing to pay for it in the sales, and you’re set for Boxing Day deals advice stage 3!
. - DON’T CAMP OUT: Who are the people who abandon their family’s on Christmas day evening with the excuse of ‘I need to get the best deal I can so I better get in line now’ and set up camp outside their most desired store? Weirdos, that’s who. Don’t be one of them. Most stores have their deals online so you might not even have to leave the house on Boxing Day. But for the ones that don’t, there’s no need to camp out. Some stores do have a limited supply of the best Boxing Day deals, but your family should always come first!
. - Look Online Before You Go: I’m so glad you didn’t camp out! Have a nice hearty breakfast to start your day and fire up your laptop. Have a quick look at the links I put up above and see if the things you want are already discounted online. If there’s anywhere else you’d like to check, go to their sites. You might be able to order for delivery and stay inside, or even reserve something for Click and Collect so that you won’t have to (really) face the crowds.
. - Walk In, Keep Calm, And Don’t Be Swayed By The Red Tickets: Shops will do their best to convince you their deals are absolutely incredible. They’ll try to get you to buy right then and there, even for things you hadn’t planned to get. Don’t be swayed though. Stand your ground, search for what you want, and remember your previous Boxing Day sales planning.
Prepare, but don’t go overboard. You don’t want to be that creep in a tent on the news that other families are laughing at over their chicken dinner because you’re so desperate to get a Boxing Day deal on an iphone for £20 cheaper than it’s normal price. It’s just not worth it.
If anymore Boxing Day deals spring up, you can let me know in the comments below or over on Facebook or Twitter and I’ll add them on with a neat little credit to you. This page will be updated as often as more news on Boxing Day sales is released, so keep checking back!
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