Another year, another Boxing Day sales "record". If it wasn't, we would really be in trouble.

The $2.4 billion sales prediction from the Australian Retailers Association is in reality a measly improvement on the 2016 results, as is the $17.8 billion figure for the entire post-Christmas period.

After accounting for inflation and population growth, the extra 2.9 per cent, or $500 million, expected to flow into shops is actually a downgrade – despite NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian performing her best sales pitch in front of the cameras for a Boxing Day of "bumper trade".

Much to the frustration of Treasurer Scott Morrison, Australians have not been spending enough in the lead-up to a period when many retailers expect to net up to half their annual revenue and keep 1.2 million people employed in the $310 billion sector.