Shoppers in Northern Ireland on the hunt for a Boxing Day bargain
Shoppers in Northern Ireland are set to hit the high streets today for the annual Boxing Day sales.
All of the major retail sites across the Province will be hoping to see their streets and shopping centres packed with eager customers on the hunt for a bargain.
However, it's believed shoppers will spend less at the Boxing Day sales as households are squeezed by the high cost of living.
Credit card firm Barclaycard predicts that the average person is set to spend £229 in the post-Christmas sales, £18 less than last year.
A survey of 2,000 would-be shoppers by Barclaycard found that 42% said the higher cost of living would temper spending in the post-Christmas sales, with many of those saying they would spend less compared to previous years.
Harshna Cayley, head of online payments at Barclaycard Payments, said: "The rising cost of living and inflationary pressures have naturally had an impact on the amount being spent in the post-Christmas sales this year.
"Having said that, retailers can take confidence knowing that shoppers still plan to make the most of the deals and discounts on offer."
The research found that a growing number of shoppers expect to turn to reselling sites to buy items after Christmas.
It found that almost three in 10, 28%, are planning to use platforms such as Ebay and Facebook Marketplace, to offload unwanted Christmas presents.