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Is he boxing day this Monday, December 26 in the UK. This holiday allows the British to rush to the stores, because the sales begin. But this year, due to inflation and strikes in particular, shopkeepers fear the crowds won’t show up.
With our correspondent in London, Maria Boeda
Ann has just taken off her lipstick. She walks in the arms of her daughter through the illuminated streets of Covent Garden. The square in the center of the capital is always full of people, as are the shops. She already has a whole program for him. boxing day.
” We’ll probably sleep late. Then we’re going shopping in the afternoon, just an hour, to stretch our legs after Christmas. I can buy clothes and makeup, normal things “, she says.
But for Alex, who pushes his one-year-old son in a stroller under the arcades of the mall, this is not the time for anything: ” No, I’m not going, I spent enough money for Christmas and obviously the prices are going up a lot. I don’t need to buy anything else “.
Inflation, transportation and postal strikes
Some businesses, like John Lewis department store, have even started their sales earlier as customers are reluctant to buy this year. In question, inflation that reached 10.7% in November, as well as an endless transport strike. This Monday, the day after Christmas, from many trains will not work.
So, the postmen’s strike doesn’t encourage people to buy online either, so Indy, who is used to doing sales, intends to rest this time: ” I’ll be home with my family and play board games. “.
This is precisely the fear of retailers this year: that stores have many more items to sell than customers to buy them.
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