Australians were expected to hit major retailers in droves this morning with National Retail Association chief executive Dominique Lamb saying shoppers could spend up to $2.36 billion on Boxing Day, up three per cent on the 2016 figure of $2.28 billion.

Yet, staff at Wagga Myer reported little foot traffic in their opening hour of trade despite store-wide discounts, while other outlets are yet to pick up.

The few early shoppers around were sighted collecting Christmas decorations and ornaments, seemingly in preparation for next year’s installment. 

A Wagga Target manager suggested this may be the result of Boxing Day’s appeal deteriorating, saying not enough shopper actively cared about the sales anymore.