This Boxing Day will be a 鈥渓ittle bit muted,鈥 compared to other years amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and global supply chain issues, according to a retail expert.
Bruce Winder, a retail expert and the author of Retail Before, During and After COVID-19, told 麻豆影视 Channel on Saturday that overall things are going to be 鈥渟ort of subdued鈥 on Boxing Day this year.
What鈥檚 more, he said more people are likely to choose online shopping this year, instead of going to the stores.
鈥淥micron is spreading like wildfire through the population, [and] a lot of people are going to say 鈥楴o, thanks, I'm not going to line up,鈥 or 鈥業'm not feeling well,鈥欌 he said.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to see a lot more online shopping than ever for a Boxing Day or Boxing Week.鈥
When it comes to supply chain issues, Winder said for small and medium-sized retailers there has 鈥渂een a pretty big delay.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 been difficult to find specific items,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t all depends on who you are -- If you鈥檙e a big retailer like Amazon or Canadian Tire, you鈥檝e been able to sort of stick handle around a lot of these supply chain issues, but if you鈥檙e a small to medium-sized retailer, you really have been at the mercy of a giant supply chain which has really crawled to a snail鈥檚 pace.鈥
Despite the pandemic and supply chain issues, Winder said there will still be Boxing Day deals 鈥渁cross the board,鈥 maybe even more than usual.
鈥淚 mean, one could argue that there could be a few more deals this year, because some inventory came in a little late this year,鈥 he explained. 鈥淎nd if it came in late because of supply chain issues, then some retailers will be looking to aggressively mark it down to get rid of it so they don鈥檛 have to carry it over until [the] next holiday.鈥
Winder said Boxing Day shoppers should look around to make sure they鈥檙e getting the best deals.
鈥淒ouble-check, because there have been some retailers who have been playing a bit of a margin game,鈥 he said. 鈥
Winder said some retailers may try to raise their prices because they know consumers are 鈥渂uying more impulsively.鈥
鈥淛ust make sure you do your homework to see that whatever you鈥檙e getting is truly a really good deal,鈥 he said.
