Bargains for shoppers, dire outlook for shops

From Oxford Circus to Primark near Marble Arch, 43 per cent of the 80 shops have mid-season sales or other special offers advertised in their windows.

Several boast that they are offering up to 70 per cent off and House of Fraser now has banners promising further reductions on top. Even so an assistant at the store said things were "pretty dire".

Of the 33 shops with sales or promotions, 15 are clothes shops, including Esprit with a mid-season sale, Mexx offering up to 70 per cent off, H&M with a half-price sale and Jane Norman.

Four are department stores: House of Fraser, Debenhams, Marks and Spencer and BhS, which has a half-price lighting "event".

Four are jewellers, including Ernest Jones which is offering 25 per cent off diamonds and H Samuel which is advertising a buy-one-get-one-half-price offer on all watches.

Others include shoe shops and book and music retailers.

Teacher Kirsty Balfour, 26, and her boyfriend Kris Redmond from Inverness, booked a London mini-break in May and were determined not to let the credit crunch ruin their shopping trip. They spent £500 on clothes at Selfridges in a morning.

Ms Balfour said: "The credit card has taken a hit today but actually I've been saving up for ages. Normally I don't worry about spending here, there and everywhere but my household bills are going up and I can't afford to do that now."

Maureen Wolstencroft, 43, from Welwyn Garden City, who had spent £130 in Zara and Topshop, said: "I'm spending more than before the credit crunch. I'm quite surprised by how cheap things are prices have come down majorly yet my income is the same.

"It's much busier than I expected so I can't be alone. It's the same at my salon, but then women would rather have a haircut and go without food."

However, others were cutting back. Anja Fiske, 35, who lost her City bank job in the recent waves of redundancies, said she had reduced all but essential purchases, and had swapped Sainsbury's for Asda and Lidl.

However, she said that, rather than going to Primark, she would buy fewer clothes from her favourite shops, Thomas Pink and Austin Reed.

George MacDonald, deputy editor of Retail Week, confirmed the mid-range shops were taking the biggest hit because their customers were flocking to cheaper shops such as Primark while the wealthiest customers could still afford to shop in designer stores.

He said: "The West End is a real shopping destination and the high-end stores are helped by foreign visitors taking advantage of the strengthening euro.

"Shops like Primark can rely on their budget reputation but other stores are cutting prices and shouting about it because they can't afford to sit on their laurels. There are some wow deals to get footfall into shops.

"Retail sales are under pressure because ordinary people's income is under pressure. They are spending more on utility bills and petrol."