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All the shops closing doors to give staff a break this Boxing Day

Boxing Day will be a little different in 2021, and many big-name retailers have decided to shut up shop.

Emily Sergeant - 23rd December 2021

Boxing Day is one of the busiest days in the UK shopping calendar.

But as the years have gone on, especially in light of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and all of the extra, unprecedented challenges it has brought to the retail industry and the people who work in it, many retailers have started to see the value in giving staff the day off to rest, recover, and most importantly, spend that extra bit of time with their loved ones.

Every year, more and more businesses appear to be making the decision to keep shops shut on the annual post-Christmas Bank Holiday.

In 2021, a handful of shops and supermarkets have already announced they’ll be closing doors.

Here’s everything we know so far.

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Supermarkets

Most supermarket chains across the UK have published their adjusted operating hours over the festive period, with many choosing to keep doors closed on Boxing Day.

Here’s the list of supermarkets closing:

Aldi
Sainsbury’s
M&S
Lidl
Co-op
Waitrose

Tesco has plans to keep over 370 of its large stores open for 24 hours a day during the festive period in the run-up to the big day, and although Asda stores across Greater Manchester will be closing on Christmas Day, they will be opening on Boxing Day from 10am – 4pm.

You can find more information about supermarket opening hours in Greater Manchester here.

Other Retailers

Home Bargains

Home Bargains has announced that it will be closing all of its stores across the UK on Boxing Day to give staff time to “recover”.

“We recognise how incredibly hard all of our colleagues have worked over the last year, to continue to serve the local communities that rely on them so much,” a spokesperson for Home Bargains explained of the decision to close.

“In light of this, we felt it was only right to reward store teams by taking the decision to close all of our stores on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.

“And also close stores early at 5pm on Christmas Eve.”

Argos

All Argos stores will also be closed this Boxing Day.

The stores will remain closed “in recognition of the extraordinary efforts of colleagues throughout a challenging 18 months, since the start of the pandemic.”

Simon Roberts, Chief Executive of Sainsbury’s – which owns Argos – said: “Christmas is a really special time for so many, but because of lockdown restrictions last year, lots of us weren’t able to celebrate in the way we wanted.

“In recognition of this and to say a massive thank you to all our colleagues for everything they have done during the last challenging year, we will be closing this Boxing Day.”

Here’s just some of the other national names closing on Boxing Day: