A total of $1.3 billion is expected to be spent on Boxing Day itself, an almost 2 per cent increase on last year's spending figures, data from the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) shows. For the six days following Christmas, it is expected shoppers will spend $3.7 billion across that period, which is 2.7 per cent more than last year.

Australians are on track to fork out $1.3 billion at shopping centres and stores on Boxing Day, as discounts on food and household items lure shoppers to tap into their shrinking personal budgets. The Australian Retailers Association and Roy Morgan project that the billion-dollar Boxing Day blitz will spur a $3.