Australian shoppers flocked to the Boxing Day sales both in stores and online, with the country’s peak retail body hailing the day a major success.

As businesses threw open doors on Tuesday, bargain-hunters lined up from early morning with Australian Retailers Association boss Russell Zimmerman predicting national sales figures for the day to top $2.4 billion.

“Judging by the increase in foot-traffic and shoppers lining outside bricks-and-mortar stores, I think we may have hit the mark,” Mr Zimmerman said in a statement on Wednesday.

“With the growth of online retail the ARA believes many Australians got their bargains online this year, with consumers choosing to click through websites to take advantage of the best sales of the year.”

Figures are expected to show NSW shoppers spent most at the post-Christmas sales, with a forecast $766 million splurge or just a little more than Victorian consumers.

Australian retail giant Myer predicted about 1.6 million customers would walk through their stores across the country on December 26.

The enthusiasm of bargain-hunters in Sydney’s CBD wasn’t dampened despite a number of measures including road closures and physical obstacles strategically placed to prevent vehicles driving through crowded areas.

Boxing Day is only the start of the shopping craze with the ARA expecting shoppers to spend $17.9 billion nationally from December 26 to January 15.

“We anticipate consumers to continue taking advantage of the best retail sales of the year for the next two or three weeks, both in-store and online,” Mr Zimmerman said.