Retailers predict Boxing Day sales will break $2 billion record

Australian shoppers looking for a Boxing Day bargain are expected to splurge more than $2 billion.

Retailers expect shops around the country will take in more than $16 billion over the next three weeks, including a $2.072 billion boon on Friday alone.

If those expectations pan out, it would be the first time Australian shoppers have spent more than $2 billion in a single day.

Victorian consumers will lead the post-Christmas shopping binge according to the Australian Retailers Association, spending about $682 million on Boxing Day while NSW is expected to fork out $584 million.

ARA executive director Russell Zimmerman slammed "ludicrous" retail regulations in NSW preventing shops outside the city's CBD from opening their doors early on Boxing Day.

Australian shoppers aged 14 or older will spend an average of $850 each between Boxing Day and January 15.

Shopping centres are opening their doors earlier on Boxing Day to accommodate the influx of shoppers, with David Jones stores in Sydney and Melbourne CBDs opening at 5am.