Editing Boxing Day (section)

=== Comparisons to Black Friday ===

In terms of seasonal or holiday shopping traditions, Boxing Day sales have been compared to the US phenomenon of [[Black Friday (shopping)|Black Friday]] sales{{snds}}Black Friday being the Friday following the American [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]] holiday in late November. In the late 2000s, when the [[Canadian dollar|Canadian]] and [[United States dollar]]s were near parity, many Canadian retailers began to hold Black Friday promotions in an effort to discourage shoppers from crossing the [[Canada–United States border|border]] to visit United States stores. This may have been a contributory factor, since 2013, in a relative decline of traditional Canadian Boxing Day sales, when compared to sales on Black Friday.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://financialpost.com/news/retail-marketing/inside-the-shopping-extravaganza-that-black-friday-has-become-in-canada|title=Inside the shopping extravaganza that Black Friday has become in Canada|date=23 November 2016|website=Financial Post|language=en-CA|access-date=7 January 2020|last1=Shaw|first1=Hollie}}</ref>

The traditional Boxing Day sales in the United Kingdom were never as large an event as the Black Friday sales are in the United States. However, many British retailers began to see an opportunity to import the Black Friday tradition into the UK, not to replace Boxing Day sales, but as an addition to their overall seasonal promotions. However, Black Friday and Boxing Day are close enough together that spending on one sale was likely to affect spending on the other. Ultimately, the result was a marked decline in traditional Boxing Day sales in the UK. The change was initially facilitated, although not necessarily by design, by U.S.-owned retailers such as [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]], and [[Asda]] (then a subsidiary of US-based [[Walmart]]). This phenomenon was furthered by a general decline in traditional high-street shopping and a growing online marketplace, which is more international by nature. This led, in 2015, to greater November retail sales in the UK than in December for the first time.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46260739|title=Have eight years of Black Friday changed the UK?|last=Jones|first=Lora|date=21 November 2018|work=BBC News|access-date=7 January 2020|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/26/what-is-black-friday-biggest-uk-shopping-day|title=What is Black Friday and who's to blame for it?|last=Ruddick|first=Graham|date=26 November 2015|work=The Guardian|access-date=7 January 2020|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> In 2019, a retail analysis firm estimated that there was a 9.8% drop in British store traffic on Boxing Day in comparison to 2018 (the largest year-over-year drop since 2010), citing several factors, such as the weather, the increased prominence of [[online shopping]], uncertainties in the wake of the [[2019 United Kingdom general election|general election]], and the growing prominence of Black Friday sales.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/dec/26/boxing-day-footfall-dip-blamed-on-poor-weather-and-black-friday|title=Boxing Day sales dip blamed on poor weather and Black Friday|last=Wood|first=Zoe|date=26 December 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=7 January 2020|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

Boxing Day sales are not a prominent tradition in the United States, although many retailers often begin after-Christmas sales that day. It is typically the earliest starting day after Christmas for people to return unwanted gifts for exchanges or refunds and to redeem [[gift card]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|last=McCamish|first=Bethany|date=29 March 2021|title=What Is The Best Shopping Day After Christmas? We've Got The Answer|url=https://www.themoneymanual.com/what-is-the-best-shopping-day-after-christmas/|access-date=27 April 2021|website=The Money Manual|language=en-US}}</ref>