Retailers in the UK are expecting millions of shoppers to come out for shopping in the country on the Boxing Day and drive up sales.

According to research from Green Flag, about 7.1 million shoppers are expected to purchase items on the day with a tenth of them finalizing a deal before 9am following a push by the online retailers in the country.

Customers are expected to spend about £2.9 billion on shopping today, according to estimates from MoneySupermarket. com. The research on the website showed that about 8 per cent or four million shoppers will go to the stores physically while four million shoppers will purchase items online on the say in the UK.

Meanwhile, some retailers remained ahead of others by offering discounts and remaining open on Christmas day. Target, Walmart and other major retailers remained open for few hours on Christmas Eve to allow last minute shoppers to pick up gifts. Store times have been decided as per store locations to offer convenience to the shoppers.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said high street spending was "acceptable but not exceptional" this festive period due to weak accessibility and weak demand.