A member of a local business body says Waterford would be better served by restricting retailers from working on Stephen's Day.
Opening on St. Stephen's Day for sales has become increasingly popular with businesses and customers, with Next in Ardkeen seeing queues outside its doors hours before a 6am opening.
Many of the stores that do open are a branch with a head office in Dublin.
However Bryan Tynan from the Waterford Business Group says Ireland should follow the lead of other countries when it comes to Stephen's Day retailing.
"It's a bearbug of mine," he admits, "part of me would almost hope that there would be a Belgian or French style law brought out in Ireland that would make it compulsory for retail businesses to close."
Bryan says business was mixed on the day, with a lot of people browsing but not buying.
"A lot of the businesses that do open on St. Stephen's Day tend to be UK driven or chains."
