Newcastle NE1 say Boxing Day sales help provide economic boom for businesses
They say Boxing Day is one of the busiest days in the calendar for shops and businesses.
Newcastle's business improvement district tells us that Boxing Day is one of the busiest days in the calendar for shops and businesses.
They say that the sales help provide an economic boom for businesses and that they are expecting a rise in people going into the shops.
It is as many people across the North East will be spending their gifted extra cash they got for Christmas.
Ben Whitfield, director of communications at Newcastle NE1, said: "I think we've seen a real increase this year in people who are actually visiting sort of bricks and mortar premises. We've got footfall from Northumberland Street which shows between 20% and 40% up versus last year.
"What it seems to be coming down to is people looking for that experience. It was really convenient and has been for many years to sit in your dressing gown and order online, but it doesn't offer those Christmas feels that sort of emotional connection of visiting somewhere, touching something.
"People are looking for something to do in that period between Christmas and New Year. There's a lot of people who have been really busy getting everything ready beforehand, and now they're looking for something that's a little bit more sort of sedate and maybe something for themselves. You've got people who have got Christmas present money burning a hole in their pockets.
"There's a lot of retailers, but also other businesses in the city, that make a huge proportion of their annual revenue in this period. I think everyone is looking to do things with friends and with family and there's lots of presents to buy. So, it's a really key time of year. I think Boxing Day is like the icing on the cake, after a busy lead into Christmas."