Boxing Day sales set new record

Retail experts are predicting that the last week of December, which included Christmas Day and Boxing Day, will post the highest retail sales for 2011, beating the pre-Christmas rush that typically produces the highest sales results.

This Is Money reported one major contribution to the record-breaking post-Christmas sales is the increase in U.K. shoppers purchasing from online stores. Many retailers took advantage of the growing population of online shoppers by launching specific deals on their ecommerce sites. John Lewis, Harrods and Ikea all launched in-store sales during and after Christmas Day, and offered special deals and promotions specifically for online shoppers.

Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the Centre for Retail Research, told the source that including online sales, December 26 and 27 may have produced record-breaking two-day sales numbers.

Seeing the growth of online retail offerings, Karen Marsh, a fashion designer from Sutton, recently launched her own online store, Rose Handmade Clothing. The ecommerce site sells clothes, homewear products, accessories and menswear. Because she is a niche retailer, she can also offer made-to-order services for her customers who are looking for something very specific. With little overheard cost because it is an online store, Marsh is also able to handle on-demand orders, Chad reported.