Shops open on Boxing Day - your views online

A Yougov poll has found that 79 per cent of people support shops staying closed on Boxing Day. We asked for your views…

Ruby Grahame: It never failed to amaze me working in retail. My first Christmas I thought Boxing Day would be dead – who wants to trail around shops on Boxing Day? But I nearly got killed in the crush. There were more folk out from the minute the doors opened than before Christmas. I couldn’t push the trolley through the crowds!

Jonathan Hume: Traditionally, the shops were all closed, and they should continue to do so.

Cara Louise: Give them the full day off! I’m sure people can survive from tea time on the 24th to the morning on the 27th without needing to go to the supermarket.

Do you like to hit the shops on Boxing Day to bag a bargain in the sales?

Anne Cook: The supermarkets are open until 10 most nights. No need to be open Boxing Day. Staff should be able to enjoy their Christmas Day without thinking about having to be up at silly o'clock because the sales start.

Theador Rodriguez: It’s just another day of the year though. That’s like saying all shops should be shut on a Sunday because that’s the day of rest. Christmas isn’t all that special, its just a made-up name for a time of year that otherwise is quite miserable, there’s ice everywhere and it’s freezing. It’s just another excuse for people to want to get drunk and have a few days off work.

Harry Gray: When I started work in retail in the early 1950s we worked on Christmas Day.

Ian Stevenson: Everything should be closed apart from emergency services and they should get their own staggered holiday. We can all survive with shops being closed for two days.

Sheena Flint: I remember my mum and dad finishing on Christmas Eve and then back in for the sales on Boxing Day so I would definitely vote for shops being closed on Boxing Day.

John Sinclair: What about other people who have to work on Boxing Day, New Years’ Day and the 2nd like bus drivers, rail staff etc. Don't they deserve the holiday too?

William P Henderson: Everywhere should close early on Christmas Eve, and be closed on Boxing Day, Hogmanay, New Year’s Day and the 2nd. If we can’t go two or three days without the shops, then it’s an issue.

Stuart McClelland: Retailers give consumers what they want. If people stopped queuing at 4am on Boxing Day for sales or stopped going to supermarkets then it would no longer be viable for the business to open so they wouldn’t. Of course the retailers could take the choice away from the consumer but that's not how capitalism works. You reap what you sow. If you want people to get a fair holiday at Christmas then stop using retailers and encourage your friends and family to do the same.

Ken Johnston: If they close on Boxing Day, how will DFS and SCS cope with not being able to start their 100th sale of the year?

Debra Davies: I've escaped from working at Sainsbury’s before the Christmas madness kicked into gear and this will be the first time I've not worked either Christmas Eve or Boxing Day in retail in about 18 years. It’s about time something was done for one of the lowest-paid sections of the workforce. Make it compulsory for Boxing Day closures in all stores. I am old enough to remember when stores were closed on a Sunday and sometimes on a half day in the week. People coped then.

Caroline Davidson: Supermarket staff are the unsung stars of Covid lockdown. They deserve two days off at least, or double time on Boxing Day.

Nicole Gray: I work in M&S at the moment and I’m thankful they decided to close their stores on Boxing Day.

Plesea Florin Danut: I am all for closing all the shops on Boxing Day – the staff need a break to be with their loved ones. But on the other side surely will be people who complain they cannot get their pint of milk and a loaf of bread and also some of the corner shops are open even on Christmas Day – how about their staff?

Ian Cunningham: People want things to go and do things at Christmas. We have two performances at the theatre on Boxing Day and both are nearly sold out

Willie Conquer: I’m never ever anywhere near a supermarket on Boxing Day. The bosses are just greedy.

Artisan Stitch: Who are these people who need to go to a supermarket on Boxing Day? They need to get a grip.