Although many shoppers see Black Friday as the biggest and most-anticipated sales event, Boxing Day also holds great importance, given that it includes some of the greatest discounts offered throughout the year. Many shoppers put the two events on the same level as far as the deals featured are concerned, and it doesn’t come as a surprise since, in previous years, Boxing Day brought noteworthy price cuts from many retailers.
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What Is Boxing Day 2024 and When Is It?
In many countries, Boxing Day is a public holiday, yet in Canada is mostly a shopping holiday celebrated the day after Christmas Day, that is December 26th. However, when this day is Saturday or Sunday, Boxing Day is usually moved to the next working day, which in 2021 would be December 27th. This date is yet to be confirmed, though.
The holiday’s beginning can be traced back to 1850, and it all started in the UK spreading later to other countries in the Commonwealth, including Scotland, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. It has now become largely associated with discounts since the deals offered on Boxing Day are similar to the ones included in the Black Friday event. Moreover, Boxing Day has become the day with the greatest revenue for many retailers.
While Boxing Day is usually held on December 26th, many retailers spread this event over several days, either before or after December 26th, and sometimes even up to New Year’s Eve. The event is often extended into Boxing Week.
In some parts of Canada, many vendors are prohibited from opening their stores on this day by municipal bylaw or provincial law. In some cases, there is even an informal agreement among big retailers to keep the stores closed and thus provide a day of relaxation after Christmas Day.
Most major retailers have announced their plans regarding Black Friday deals and opening hours, so we expect to see the same happening in the next few days or even weeks.
Boxing Day Sales vs. Black Friday Deals
Even if Boxing Day is one of the biggest sales events in Canada and several other countries, more and more Canadian shoppers favor Black Friday and Cyber Monday over this shopping holiday, although many of them still shop significantly on Boxing Day.
One reason might be the fact that many Black Friday deals include savings on products that come in limited quantities, which might make many shoppers purchase the items of interest while they’re in stock instead of waiting for Boxing Day when they might no longer be available or discounted.
In many cases, there are little to no differences between the deals offered by the two sales events, and more often than not, what we get on Black Friday we get on Boxing Day as well. The deals offered on Boxing Day are likely to cover a variety of product categories, such as electronics, homeware, and fashion.
What’s more, the products that enjoyed the greatest popularity during the Black Friday event are also highly likely to be the most sought-after on Boxing Day. Black Friday will witness a huge interest in Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and PS5 accessories and games, Google’s smart home products, iRobot Roomba vacuums, AirPods, air fryers, and Instant Pot cookers, just to name a few.
Boxing Day deals are also worth considering when predicting this year’s offers as many retailers feature the same types of deals. In 2023, Pandora offered discounts of up to 50% on select Charms, while Best Buy included noteworthy savings on electronics, cameras, and smart home items.
For example, the Google Nest Hub was discounted from $169 to $89.00 at Best Buy, while Walmart cut prices by $150 on the Dyson V11 Absolute Cordless Vacuum and by $90 on the BISSELL ProHeat 2X Revolution Deep Carpet Cleaner. We expect to see similar deals on Boxing Day this year as well.
Retailers Offering Boxing Day Deals in Canada
The retailers that offer Black Friday deals typically offer the same or similar deals on Boxing Day. Here is more on the retailers that participate in the Boxing Day event in Canada.
- Best Buy – According to the retailer’s Boxing Day webpage, this year, the event will start on December 24th online, and all Best Buy stores in Canada will take part in this event. Boxing Day deals will cover different products from top brands, such as Apple, Google, Samsung, and Fitbit, to name a few.
- Amazon will also be offering deals on Boxing Day as it did last year when it cut prices on a variety of smart devices, gaming products, audio gear, and the retailer’s products, including Echo Dot items.
- Walmart had an entire week of Boxing deals, from December 26th till January 1st, and according to the information on the retailer’s Boxing Day webpage, it will offer week-long savings this year as well.
- Canadian Tire is also among the retailers that offer deals on Boxing Day. In 2023, such deals were available between December 26th to December 29th and included cuts of up to 70% on select products.
- Costco will also take part in the Boxing Week sales event. Given the rich selection of products available at Costco, it is worth keeping an eye on their Boxing Day deals. What’s more, last year’s Boxing Day offers included discounts of up to $900 on select TVs.
- EB Games is also an important participant in the Boxing Day event, and given the deals it offered, we expect to see the retailer running sales in 2022 as well. Last year, EB Games held the Boxing Week event from December 26th until December 31st, which featured price cuts of up to 75% on games.
- Hudson’s Bay will also take part in the Boxing Day event as it is mentioned on the retailer’s official website. In 2023, the retailer offered discounts of up to 70% on select items, and while some deals were available only on December 26th, others lasted for an entire week.
- Mark’s is your one-stop destination for fashion items and one of the retailers that offer Boxing Day deals. In 2023, Mark’s offered discounts of 20% – 60% on fashion apparel both online and in-store, and chances are that we will see something similar this year as well. The Boxing Week Blowout Event will start on December 23rd.
- Pandora offered both online and in-store Boxing Day deals in 2023, and it is expected to do the same this year. Last year’s event ran from December 25th (online) and December 26th (in stores) to January 6th and included discounts of up to 50%.
- The Brick – If your house could use a decor refresh, you might want to keep an eye on The Brick as, just like in 2023, the retailer will offer Boxing Day deals. The Brick is said to roll out such deals from December 22nd online and December 23rd in stores through December 31st.
If your favorite retailers haven’t released information or ads regarding their Boxing Day deals, it is best to sign up for newsletters to be among the first to know about special offers and starting dates.
Boxing Day Deals Moving Online
Since this year has brought so many changes as a result of the pandemic, many of the approaches embraced for the Black Friday event are likely to be the ones tailoring the Boxing Day event.
As we’ve said above, many stores were closed on this day in the previous years as well, but this year, it is likely for most of them to move their deals online, unless otherwise stated.
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This is another reason why we might see an entire week of deals instead of a single day of savings. Black Friday covered almost the entire month of November and Cyber Monday was in many cases held on several days. Boxing Day deals might thus begin before December 26th and even last through New Year’s Eve.