£60million one-day spree as the sales start early

Half a million shoppers packed stores in Oxford Street, Bond Street and Regent Street yesterday, on what was their busiest day of the year, with sales topping Saturday's.

A combination of generous discounts, workers taking extra time off before Christmas Day and men panic-buying gave shops a much-needed boost. Retail experts today warned that some stores are running out of money - threatening staff wages and rent payments - because customers had delayed their Christmas shopping, lured by the prospect of massive discounts.

Andy Garbutt, of accountants PriceWaterhouseCoopers, said: "An awful lot of these pre-Christmas sales are retailers trying to raise cash. Staff need to be paid and rents need to be paid."

Music store Zavvi,started its sale yesterday, while Tesco has announced another wave of discounts, including 70 per cent off some of its clothes. Principles and Whistles have already halved the price of nearly all their clothes, while B&Q, John Lewis and House of Fraser are starting January sales tomorrow. Store discounts have already reached unprecedented levels this year. Even in the Eighties and Nineties retailers held off discounting goods until Boxing Day.

Jason Gordon, retail director at Ernst & Young, said: "It certainly will be the most discounted Christmas Eve ever seen. It may not sound much different going on sale on Christmas Eve rather than on Boxing Day but psychologically it really is significant."

Shop owners welcomed yesterday's late influx of customers to the West End after a slow November and early December. Jace Tyrell of the New West End Company said: "It is incredible - you really couldn't move in Oxford Street. Stores are saying that it was better than Saturday, which was a record day."

Mr Tyrell added that the mild weather also helped boost yesterday's shopper numbers. He said: "People are deciding to stay in London to shop rather than going elsewhere. People want the whole experience - they want to see the lights and look in the window of Hamleys.

"People want to feel good. It is a very London thing in the face of doom and gloom to come together and be happier about life."

The trend mirrored that of 2003 - the last time Christmas fell on a Thursday - when thousands of workers hit the shops after taking a five-day weekend.

Nat Wakeley, director of selling at John Lewis, said: "Most people do their shopping on Monday so they can get it out of the way and relax for Christmas.

"We had always foreseen that Monday would be very busy - even busier than Saturday - because people have a five-day weekend. Our Oxford Street store was absolutely heaving."