Boxing Week facts for kids

Boxing Week is a period of six days or more that starts with Boxing Day on December 26 and ends with New Year's Eve on December 31. The term was invented by the retail industry around the mid-2000s as an attempt to extend their Boxing Day sales through much of the Christmas season.

Boxing Day is a national holiday in the United Kingdom. It is the time where British families spend time with each other, if they were not able to bond during Christmas Day. It is the biggest week of the year for clothing companies. Since it only has six days, and since some retailers extend their sales beyond that time period, it is not strictly a week. This results in huge lineups at retailers.

Many Commonwealth retailers, such as those found in Canada and the UK, clear their inventory in Boxing Week specials because in many cases:

• Inventory must be counted using expensive labour some time in January.
• Depending on the state, province or municipality, they are often subject to a millage tax (similar to property taxes) on any inventory retained as of 1 January of each year (or 7 January/15 January in some tax jurisdictions).
• They are introducing new products in the new year.

Many products have a mail-in rebate to be used, a tactic used by manufacturers to clear their inventory. Some stores also start their Boxing Week deals before December 26.

Many Latino communities celebrate Three Kings Day feast of the epiphany which is January 6 coinciding with Greek and Russian Orthodox calendars. Longer lasting sales are either typical deals or of a loss leader nature, as several stores keep their best deals exclusively for Boxing Day.

Issues

In December 2012, Canadian local merchants felt disappointed that so many Canadian citizens spend their money south of the Canadian – US border, despite the traders’ efforts to make these people shop in their homeland.

See also

• Winter holiday season