The Boxing Day sales once saw thousands of people flock to the high street, but this year many shops will keep their doors closed on December 26. 

With the increase in online shopping, lots of brands have decided to give their staff a well earned day off after Christmas. 

This includes some major supermarkets which is worth factoring in to your food shop before the big day so you can stock up on essentials. 

Here's what you need to know about which shops will be closed on Boxing Day 2021...

Which shops are closed on Boxing Day in Scotland? 

  • Morrisons
  • Sainsbury's 
  • Aldi 
  • Waitrose
  • M&S
  • Iceland
  • Home Bargains
  • Wilko
  • Argos
  • Habitat
  • John Lewis
  • Fat Face
  • Poundland 
  • Pets at Home
  • The Entertainer
  • Holland and Barrett

Why are shops closing on Boxing Day?

In 2020, many shops closed on Boxing Day as  thank you to staff who had worked tirelessly through the pandemic. 

This year many stores will continue the new tradition of closing on December 26, giving employees a chance to take advantage of the festive break. 

Shops opening on Boxing Day has long been a controversial point, with a petition launched in 2015 against shops opening on December 26 gathering over 140,000 signatures. 

The petition read: "Christmas is a family time, the one day is not enough time to see two sides of families, retail workers work extremely hard during the Christmas run up and only get the one day.

"If only everywhere could be closed boxing day! Some things are needed over the festive period, retail isn't one of them."

It was debated in Parliament on December 12 2016, however the government concluded by saying: "We do not believe it is for the central Government to tell businesses how to run their shops or how best to serve their customers.

"Therefore we are not proposing to ban shops from opening on Boxing Day."