At one minute to eight outside the Nike store in the Canberra Outlet Centre, the buzz picked up - but it was a long way short of the way it used to be.
There were about 200 people queuing. The doors opened and in they went, seeking out the 40 per cent discounts trumpeted over every flat space.
The line just increased through the morning, doubling back on itself, people allowed in as the same number came out.
But it wasn't like the frenzy it once was. No rush. No barging. Bargain hunters have migrated online leaving the space free for the calmer seekers after a deal.
Michael Reading remembered that in 2019 the line was a kilometre long. "It took us hours to get in. This time, getting here at 7.45 am, the line was about 50 metres," he said.
But it was still worth it - $650 worth of savings worth it. He spent $350 for two jumpers, a pair of pants and three pairs of shoes which he reckoned would have cost him about $1000 before the sale.
And there's the buzz of a real, stand-in, touch-stuff shop (though by the middle of the morning, it was more of a growl as the cars trawled the car park looking for space).
Michelle and David Fisher had brought the kids who loaded up with Nike shoes.
"It's the thrill," she said. "They like to see and touch the stuff."
"Until you touch it, you don't know what it's like," he added.
They had spent $246: "We've saved a couple of hundred dollars so far - and we've only hit one shop," she said.
Not everyone was so impressed. Don Alvero sat guarding his wife's bulging bags while she continued the hunt.
Sure, he said, there were big discounts but only on last year's must-have items.
"It's old stock. If you are a businessman, these are not fast-moving items," he said.
His wife had bought a bright orange, Day-Glo top.
"I don't like the colour but she does," he shrugged. "I just sit here with a coffee."
One shopper told The Canberra Times he had been watching the advertised online prices at another, non-Nike store in the centre, and he had noticed that prices went up an hour before opening time.
He said he had taken them up on this in the store and got the goods for the original price.
But real life shoppers in the real shop seemed pleased with what they had got.
Natalia Niko spent $85 on pyjamas for her nephew and an adult pyjama top and matching shorts. She reckoned she had saved herself $90.
"It's worth it. I've been watching these pieces for a while. I've got matching sets at home and the discounts are a great incentive," she said.
The Australian Retailers Association called the Boxing Day sales "the Grand Final of Australia's favourite sport - shopping".
Before the doors opened, it was forecasting a slight increase (1.6 per cent) in Australian spending over past year. That may or may not be sales hype.
"There's no doubt Aussies love a bargain and despite cost-of-living pressures and economic turbulence, Australians are still set to spend slightly more than last year in the final pitstop before 2024," the association's chief executive Paul Zahra said.
"This is the biggest clearance event of the year - as retailers move to clear stock and refresh their offerings ahead of the new year.
"Shoppers can expect to find some unprecedented deals both instore and online."
He said there was a change of habit pre-Christmas to post-Christmas: "In the lead up to Christmas, shoppers are focused on buying gifts for their family and loved ones."
"Post-Christmas, Australians typically turn their minds to purchases for themselves and their household, focusing on snagging a bargain."
