Boxing Day and New Year Sales 2026: Dates, Planning and Smart Buying
For shoppers in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the sales do not end with Christmas. Boxing Day, December 26, has long been the traditional start of the post-Christmas sales, and many stores continue them through New Year. In 2026, Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, the day after a Friday Christmas, which has some effects on opening hours, deliveries and the dates of public holidays. This guide sets out the dates, how to plan, and how to avoid the common mistakes. See also the countdown for the exact days left.
The dates
- Friday, December 25, 2026: Christmas Day.
- Saturday, December 26, 2026: Boxing Day.
- Thursday, December 31, 2026: New Year’s Eve.
- Friday, January 1, 2027: New Year’s Day.
Because both Christmas Day and Boxing Day touch the weekend, governments and employers use substitute holidays. In England and Wales, GOV.UK lists Monday, December 28, 2026 as the substitute bank holiday for Boxing Day. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different rules, and in Australia the states and territories declare their own substitute days. Canada’s provinces differ in which days count as statutory holidays. Check the official public-holiday list for your location, since stores, couriers and call centres often change hours on those days.
What happens to deliveries
Couriers reduce or suspend collections and deliveries on public holidays, and the days around Christmas usually carry a backlog. If you order on December 26 and the retailer ships from a warehouse, the parcel might not leave until the next working day, and then may take extra days to arrive. Do not expect deliveries on Christmas Day, and plan for slower service on the substitute holiday on December 28.
How the sales work
Post-Christmas sales are retailers clearing seasonal stock, returned gifts and last season’s lines. They often include fashion, home goods, furniture, electronics and Christmas items themselves. Some retailers begin their “Boxing Day” offers online several days earlier, or run them for a week. Because the stock is running down, sizes and colours become limited quickly, and there is a big difference between a store that has marked down its whole range and one that has marked down a selection.
Gift cards and returned gifts
If you received gift cards, the sales are an obvious time to use them, but check the card’s terms, since some cards do not apply to sale items or have an expiry date. If you are returning a gift, do it before the sale items sell out, and look at the store’s return policy first. Our guide to holiday return windows covers the rules and the proof you need to keep.
Shopping the sales without regret
- Make a list of needs. Buy what you were going to buy anyway, or things that you know have worn out. A sale is not a reason to buy an item you do not need.
- Check the price history. A sale price is only a good deal if the price was higher earlier. See our deal checklist.
- Look at the final price. Add delivery and tax. Use the calculator for stacked offers.
- Check the return terms. Sale items sometimes have shorter windows or are final sale.
- Set a cap. After a month of gift spending, a budget limit protects your January.
Rights when buying
In the UK, online and distance purchases carry a cancellation right as described by GOV.UK, and faulty goods are covered by consumer law whether or not they were bought in a sale. In Australia, consumer guarantees apply to sale items in the same way as to full-price items, except that a seller may legitimately state that a reduced item has a known fault, for which you cannot then claim. In Canada, the rules vary by province. Reduced price does not mean reduced rights, but it can mean different return terms, so read them.
New Year, new stock
The sales continue into the first week of January in many stores. Fitness gear, diaries, storage products and tax-and-finance software are the usual early-January items, and January is also when retailers clear winter clothing. If you are not in a hurry, you can often see deeper reductions in the second half of the sale period — with the risk that your size will have gone. Decide how much each item is worth to you and be prepared to let it go.
Plan for the week
If you want to buy something specific on Boxing Day, make a list of the items, the stores and the prices you have recorded in November and December. Check opening hours, since many stores open at different hours for the holiday and some operate only online. Decide in advance whether you will queue in person or buy online. Many shoppers find that the online price is the same as in the shop and avoid crowds; others prefer to try on clothing. Whichever you choose, keep your receipts and put the return deadline in your calendar the day you buy.
Online or in store?
Boxing Day crowds are part of the tradition in many city centres, but online shopping has taken a large share of the activity. In-store shopping lets you inspect items, try on clothes and take them home immediately, with no delivery wait. Online shopping gives you easier price comparison and avoids queues, but delivery might be slow in the days after Christmas and some retailers add shipping charges for sale items. If you are buying a large item such as a television or furniture, check whether the delivery date is booked before you commit, because capacity is limited in the week after Christmas.
Gift cards: a short checklist
Before spending a gift card, check the balance, the expiry date and any exclusions, and decide whether to use it on a necessary purchase rather than on an impulse buy. Keep the card number and the receipt until the balance is zero. Rules on gift-card expiry differ by country, state and province, so check the terms printed on the card or the retailer’s site.