In London this morning, Boxing Day is already in motion — from Westminster and Pimlico to Victoria, Soho and Stratford. Tube gates are clicking open, café shutters are lifting and delivery vans are queueing outside supermarkets across the capital. For millions of Londoners, commuters and holiday visitors staying in Westminster–Pimlico hotels and serviced apartments, are shops open on Boxing Day is no longer just a festive Google query — it is a real-world logistics question that decides whether the day runs smoothly or turns into a city-wide scavenger hunt.
On Friday, 26 December 2025, Britain’s capital once again sets the rhythm for the entire country. Boxing Day — one of the UK’s oldest retail traditions, dating back to the Victorian era — has become the most important post-Christmas shopping day in the British calendar. Families need to restock fridges after Christmas lunch. Travellers need medicine, toiletries and phone chargers. Bargain-hunters are searching “are shops open on Boxing Day” before leaving home, determined not to waste hours moving between locked shopfronts. From Piccadilly to Stratford, the same calculation is being made everywhere: what is actually open, and for how long?
According to The WP Times, even with a more cautious consumer mood in 2025, Boxing Day remains one of Britain’s highest-spending retail days, with shoppers concentrating on essentials, clothing basics and discounted premium items rather than impulse purchases.
Why Boxing Day still matters in Britain
Boxing Day began as a day when employers gave workers a “Christmas box” of food or money. Over 150 years later, it has become the UK’s most practical shopping day — a bridge between Christmas closure and the working New Year.
In 2025, consumer behaviour has shifted. Fewer people browse aimlessly, but those who shop spend more carefully on:
- Food and drink to restock after Christmas
- Medicine, vitamins and toiletries
- Clothing basics bought in the sales
- Beauty, grooming and wellness gift sets
- Home and kitchen essentials
This is why which shops are open on Boxing Day now matters more than ever.
London: what is actually open on Boxing Day
In London, three types of places keep the city functioning on 26 December:
- Convenience supermarkets (Tesco Express, Sainsbury’s Local, Co-op)
- Large city supermarkets (Tesco, Asda, Morrisons in major hubs)
- Major pharmacies (Boots and NHS duty pharmacies)
Big out-of-town hypermarkets often close or run short hours. Local, transport-linked and city-centre formats are your safest bet.
Central London — Westminster, Pimlico, Soho, Piccadilly, Covent Garden
The best-covered area in Britain on Boxing Day
This is where London never really shuts down on 26 December. If you are staying in Westminster–Pimlico hotels, serviced apartments or near Victoria, this zone gives you the highest concentration of open supermarkets, pharmacies, bakeries and even gyms.
Food & supermarkets
Tesco Express — Piccadilly Circus
Piccadilly Circus Underground Station, W1J 9HP
Ideal for drinks, ready meals, fruit, chargers and toiletries.
Sainsbury’s Local — Leicester Square
35–38 Leicester Square, WC2H 7LU
Reliable for fresh food, bread, wine and Christmas leftovers.
Co-op — Strand
229 Strand, WC2R 1BF
A late-opening backup if others are busy.
Fresh food & bakeries
Ole & Steen — Soho
56 Broadwick Street, W1F 7AH
Open for coffee, cinnamon buns and sandwiches — one of the few artisan bakeries trading on Boxing Day.
Gail’s Bakery — Covent Garden
36–38 Tavistock Street, WC2E 7PB
Good for fresh bread, croissants and breakfast boxes.
Pharmacies (life-savers on Boxing Day)
Boots — Piccadilly Circus
44–46 Regent Street, W1B 5RA
The most important pharmacy in Zone 1 on public holidays.
Boots — Charing Cross Station
The Strand, WC2N 5HR
Perfect if you are travelling or heading back to a hotel.
John Bell & Croyden (24-hour pharmacy)
50–54 Wigmore Street, W1U 2AU
The gold-standard London emergency pharmacy: prescriptions, baby supplies, specialist medicines — open all day and night.
Gyms & movement (for burning off Christmas dinner)
PureGym Piccadilly
Rialto Plaza, 20–23 Glasshouse Street, W1B 5DF
Usually open 24/7, including Boxing Day.
The Gym Group — Oxford Circus
32–34 Great Marlborough Street, W1F 7JD
One of the few central gyms operating normally on 26 December.
If you are in Westminster–Pimlico or Soho, you can realistically eat breakfast, buy groceries, get medicine and train — all within a 15-minute walk.
East London — Stratford, Canary Wharf, Docklands
The big-retail engine room
East London stays operational because Westfield and Canary Wharf run like airports — high footfall, tourists, workers and transport links.
Supermarkets
Tesco Extra — Westfield Stratford City
Westfield Stratford City, E20 1EL
One of the biggest food and essentials hubs open in London today.
Sainsbury’s — Canary Wharf
20–21 Cabot Square, E14 4QT
Perfect for high-quality groceries and meal kits.
Pharmacy
Boots — Canary Wharf
Unit 13, Jubilee Place, E14 5NY
Coffee & bakeries
Pret A Manger — Canary Wharf
One Canada Square, E14 5AX
Reliable for coffee and sandwiches when much of London is shut.
North London — Camden, Islington, King’s Cross
Strong for supermarkets and duty pharmacies
Food
Tesco Express — Camden High Street
233 Camden High Street, NW1 8QS
Sainsbury’s Local — King’s Cross
Caledonian Road, N1 9DX
Pharmacy
Boots — King’s Cross Station
Pancras Road, N1C 4TB
North London is particularly good for NHS duty pharmacies, which remain open when small chemists close.
South London — Clapham, Greenwich, Croydon
Fewer options, but bigger stores stay open
Supermarkets
Asda — Croydon
Purley Way, CR0 4XP
Tesco — Clapham
296–298 Clapham Road, SW9 9AE
Pharmacy
Boots — Greenwich
Cutty Sark Gardens, SE10 9HT
South London has fewer late-night choices, so go to large supermarkets or transport-linked Boots rather than small local chemists.
What is open across the rest of England on Boxing Day (26 December)
Outside London, Boxing Day retail runs on reduced but predictable schedules. The safest places to shop are large city-centre supermarkets, transport-hub stores and shopping-centre pharmacies. Below are reliable, real-world locations that stay open every Boxing Day across major English cities.
Manchester
Tesco Extra — Manchester Gorton
Hyde Road, Manchester M18 7AA
Boxing Day: 09:00–18:00
What you can buy: full groceries, bakery, alcohol, baby food, toiletries, chargers, household goods.
Boots — Manchester Arndale
49 Market Street, Manchester M1 1WR
Boxing Day: 10:00–18:00
Medicine, prescriptions, cold & flu kits, beauty, travel-sized toiletries.
Birmingham
Asda — Small Heath
Coventry Road, Birmingham B10 0JS
Boxing Day: 09:00–18:00
Food, drinks, frozen meals, nappies, toiletries, Christmas leftovers.
Tesco Express — New Street Station
Birmingham New Street Station, B2 4ND
Boxing Day: 08:00–20:00
Snacks, sandwiches, chargers, painkillers, drinks for travellers.
Boots — Bullring
Upper Mall East, Bullring, B5 4BU
Boxing Day: 10:00–18:00
Leeds
Morrisons — Merrion Centre
Merrion Way, Leeds LS2 8BT
Boxing Day: 09:00–18:00
Fresh food, bakery, hot meals, alcohol, cleaning products.
Boots — Trinity Leeds
Albion Street, Leeds LS1 5AT
Boxing Day: 10:00–18:00
Liverpool
Tesco — Hanover Street
18 Hanover Street, Liverpool L1 4AF
Boxing Day: 09:00–18:00
Boots — Liverpool ONE
South John Street, Liverpool L1 8BU
Boxing Day: 10:00–18:00
Bristol
Sainsbury’s — Broadmead
Merchant Street, Bristol BS1 3EP
Boxing Day: 09:00–18:00
Food, bakery, wine, household items.
Boots — Cabot Circus
Bond Street South, Bristol BS1 3BX
Boxing Day: 10:00–18:00
Oxford
Tesco Express — Magdalen Street
Magdalen Street, Oxford OX1 3AE
Boxing Day: 08:00–20:00
Boots — Cornmarket Street
40 Cornmarket Street, Oxford OX1 3HA
Boxing Day: 10:00–17:00
What these stores are best for on Boxing Day
These locations cover nearly all post-Christmas needs:
| You need | Where to go |
|---|---|
| Food, bread, milk, wine | Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons |
| Ready meals & hot food | Morrisons, Tesco Extra |
| Baby supplies & nappies | Asda, Tesco |
| Cold & flu medicine | Boots |
| Toiletries & cosmetics | Boots, Tesco |
| Chargers, batteries | Tesco Express, Asda |
| Snacks for travel | Tesco Express, Sainsbury’s Local |
Who is usually closed on Boxing Day
These chains normally do not trade on 26 December across most of England:
- Aldi
- Lidl
- Waitrose
- Marks & Spencer Food Halls
They reopen closer to New Year.
The Boxing Day rule that never fails
If it is near a railway station, shopping centre or city centre — it is far more likely to be open.
That is why:
- Tesco Express at stations
- Boots in malls
- Sainsbury’s in city centres
form the backbone of Boxing-Day England.
Scotland: what is open on Boxing Day
Scotland treats Boxing Day as a public holiday, but major city centres remain active.
Glasgow
Boots — Buchanan Street
220 Buchanan Street, G1 2FF
Tesco Express — Sauchiehall Street
460 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow
Edinburgh
Boots — Princes Street
101–103 Princes Street, EH2 3AA
Tesco — Duke Street
76 Duke Street, Edinburgh
In Scotland, pharmacy cover is more regulated, so large chains like Boots are the most reliable.
How to use Boxing Day well in 2025
In 2025, Boxing Day is no longer a chaotic shopping binge. It is a logistics day — the moment Britain quietly resets after Christmas. Those who treat it like a strategy day, not a browsing day, get more done with less stress.
The morning belongs to essentials.
Between 9am and 11am, London’s convenience supermarkets and large pharmacies are at their calmest. This is when to restock the fridge, pick up medicine, baby supplies, toiletries and the small things everyone forgot on Christmas Eve. By late morning, queues grow and shelves thin.
Midday is for the city.
From 11am to 2pm, London changes character. Retail traffic slows, parks fill and museums reopen. The South Bank, Hyde Park, Regent’s Canal and the West End become walkable again. This is the best moment for fresh air, coffee and letting the city breathe after the holiday.
The afternoon is for precision shopping.
Between 2pm and 5pm, go back out — but only for things you already decided to buy. Boxing Day sales in 2025 reward focus, not wandering. Clothing basics, shoes, winter coats, beauty sets and tech accessories are where the real value sits.
Evenings are for backup.
After 5pm, supermarkets begin to close, but central pharmacies and transport-hub stores remain open. This is when to collect prescriptions, cold and flu remedies, skincare, chargers and forgotten travel items — the quiet safety net of Boxing Day London.
Used properly, Boxing Day is not exhausting.
It is the one day of the year when the city gives you time back.
Gifts on Boxing Day: smart, not clutter
Boxing Day is not about novelty — it is about useful upgrades. The gifts that work on 26 December are the ones people actually need in January:
- Premium hand cream and skincare sets – winter, heating and cold weather make them instantly relevant
- Vitamins and wellness kits – practical, health-focused and easy to choose
- Thermal mugs and travel cups – Britain runs on hot drinks in winter
- Coffee, tea and quality chocolate – safe, appreciated, never wasted
- Cinema, gallery or theatre vouchers – experiences instead of more clutter
These are not “last-minute” gifts. They are post-Christmas corrections — things people realise they need once the wrapping paper is gone.
The bottom line
Yes — are shops open on Boxing Day has a clear answer in 2025. London remains the engine of Boxing Day Britain, kept running by convenience supermarkets, big-format stores and major pharmacies. Across England and Scotland, hours are shorter, but the country does not shut down.
Read about the life of Westminster and Pimlico district, London and the world. 24/7 news with fresh and useful updates on culture, business, technology and city life: What is Boxing Day in Britain — how it is celebrated, why it exists, and how London does it differently
