Irish retailers can get it wrong but the decision by Arnotts, Brown Thomas and Clerys to open their stores on St Stephen's Day for the first time in the retail calendar has proved correct and set a precedent. Short of having a crystal ball, nobody could have forecast the adverse weather conditions to come, but by opening the day after Christmas, these stores took out an insurance policy against the unpredictable Irish climate.

Stephen Sealey, MD of Brown Thomas, said "breaking tradition by opening sales on St Stephen's Day has been substantially better". He confirmed that Brown Thomas would definitely open on 26 December next year as customers had shown they were willing to shop.

Sealey estimated that 50,000 shoppers passed through Brown Thomas on St Stephen's Day, which was more than double the usual number for the first day of the store's sale. Queues formed from 7.30am for the opening at 10am, where discounts of up to 50% were offered on goods.

Tom Coffey, Dublin City Business Association chief executive, said the 'big three' deciding to open on St Stephen's Day was instrumental in persuading smaller retail stores to also start their sales early, as the department stores opening would result in consumer footfall on the day. UK-aligned stores in Ireland such as House of Fraser, Next, Karen Millen and Oasis also opened their stores on 26 December, but it was the tradition-breaking move by Ireland's 'big three' that marked a new date in the Irish retail calendar and served to bring Ireland into line with the British retail landscape.

Miriam Flahive, MD of Aurora Fashions, felt that breaking tradition was a smart move by retailers. "Our customers definitely wanted to shop on St Stephen's Day. We opened stores in 25 locations across the group. Some fared better than others but customers were positively spending in Dublin city centre, Cork and Tralee. Now we plan to open the majority of our stores on this day next year. The market has really opened up."

A true reflection of the tough economic times we find ourselves in can be seen in the significant discounts offered on sale items this year. Retailers would have held off on 50% discounts until the traditional day after St Stephen's Day opening. However, last Christmas most stores were holding sales before then, and then had further markdowns of between 60% and 70% after that. St Stephen's Day sales provided retailers with the much-needed opportunity to sell off remaining winter stock quickly.

Due to the hit the retail industry took in 2008, many retailers had built up excessive amounts of unsold, surplus stock. One prominent boutique owner I spoke to said "it was fantastic to be able to finally shed the old stock and fill the shop floor with spring optimism. This has resulted in my customers responding very positively. Realising the capital tied up in the old stock means a much brighter 2010 for the store."

Of course, asking retail staff to come to work the day after Christmas brought with it its own concerns. The bleeding-heart liberals around the country who complained about the poor retail staff expected to work on St Stephen's Day should know that staff volunteered and earned double pay for their efforts. This too is a noticeable reflection of the economic times, as hard-working retail staff grasped the opportunity to maintain their jobs and also grabbed the chance to gain the extra shifts.

Retail sales last year dropped by nearly 17%, and in some cases figures had fallen by between 20% and 40%. In the run-up to Christmas, I think it's fair to say that although there was footfall on the streets, most people were simply window shopping. This year, consumers were pre-planning what they were going to buy, as opposed to making impulsive purchases we might have seen in other years. I feel that the government's decision to hold the budget in December holds a lot of responsibility for this. VAT receipts and sales figures were already low due to the recession, but there's nothing like the threat of severe cuts in the budget to undermine consumer confidence in the run-up to Christmas. The budget being held at the end of the year was disastrous for the retail industry. A reduction in VAT of 0.5% was allocated, but national fear of what cuts the budget would bring resulted in consumers being very afraid to spend. It would be significantly better for the retail industry if the next budget is held earlier in the year so consumers have a chance to digest the cuts that are made.

Desperate times require desperate measures, and promotional activity was stepped up a gear across stores. Retailers needed to entice shoppers and keep them in-store. Traditional department store Arnotts used a brilliant marketing tool to ensure a successful first day of sale, and had X-Factor singers Jedward perform at the opening. Big-screen televisions showing racing and football backed up the live performance, and attracted thousands of shoppers.

David Riddiford, chief executive of Arnotts, said St Stephen's Day was a great success. The shake-up of the traditional opening day was matched with a shaking up of promotional strategies, and the crowds flocked in Arnotts' direction.

The success of the St Stephen's Day opening was, however, slightly tainted later in the week. By the time New Year's rolled around, the icy weather took the shine off the upbeat post-Christmas sales season. However, once people returned to work, I think there was a definite pick-up in sales again. A second wind was given to the sales period as suddenly city workers – who may have missed the opportunity to travel to the shops earlier in the week – became consumer footfall. For retailers, this was a saving grace.