Savvy shoppers hold out for sales of the century

Discounts of up to 70 per cent are predicted on a wide range of products with the best bargains in fashion and electrical goods.

Huge queues of bargain hunters are expected from before dawn on Boxing Day as West End shops attempt to clear their shelves after disappointing Christmas trading. Traders said many "savvy" shoppers had been biding their time to take full advantage.

Richard Dodd, of the British Retail Consortium, said: "It is going to be a bumper January sales in terms of the number of discounts on offer, which is good news for customers, but not such good news for retailers. I think there will be the best January sales customers have seen for some years. Customers have clearly been under financial strain and the financial pressure that has been affecting their ability to spend in the run-up to Christmas will continue."

Tim Denison, director at retail consultancy SPSL, said: "You are going to see price cuts of 50, 60, 70 per cent, and it will be on vast amounts of ranges. London in particular will see a bonanza for shoppers."

For the first time, the sales will start on Christmas Day with a number of leading chains, including Marks & Spencer, Argos and Currys offering online price cuts on their websites from midnight tonight.

However, the real action will start in the West End from first thing on Wednesday with Selfridges in Oxford Street leading the way. Its sale starts at 9am on Boxing Day but the first shoppers are expected to arrive at 5am.

The bumper discounts follow a disappointing Christmas for the West End after the credit crunch and rising household bills took their tolls on festive spending.

Jace Tyrrell of the New West End Company, which represents traders in Oxford Street, Bond Street and Regent Street, admitted: "It hasn't been the best Christmas ever, the credit crunch has started to hit the high street and the sales are out early.

"Saturday was tremendous, and it gave traders the Christmas present they had needed. But I think shoppers are much more savvy now and I think we have to be next year, especially in terms of customer service."

Although many retailers said the last weekend had been busy, it has come too late to rescue Christmas trading, which shops rely on for up to half their sales and, in some cases, virtually all their profits

Figures compiled for the Evening Standard by analyst SPSL showed 4.3 per cent more shoppers in stores on Saturday compared with the weekend before Christmas last year.

Much of that gain was in Brent Cross and other big shopping centres such as Bluewater, rather than in the West End, where Oxford Street, Regent Street stayed relatively quiet.

Sunday was even better, according to figures from rival firm Footfall, with 25 per cent more shoppers than last year, although the comparison is flattered by Christmas Eve falling on a Sunday last year.

But the final spurt follows weeks of disappointing trading figures, forcing many chains to go on sale before Christmas.

French Connection, Hobbs, LK Bennett and Monsoon are among those to have put up early sale signs in the hope of tempting in Christmas shoppers. H&M and New Look have followed suit.

But those discounts will go into overdrive on Boxing Day as the stores slash prices to clear unsold stock. Oxford Street and Bond Street were still busy yesterday afternoon as people made the most of early discounts but the throngs of people seen on Thursday and Friday night and on Saturday had shrunk to a manageable crowd.

British Retail Consortium director Kevin Hawkins said there would be sharp differences between retail's winners and losers this year.

He said: "Those that got it right on price and availability should have done well. Department stores and those in shopping centres have also benefited as cold weather has made some high streets less attractive."

Bluewater Shopping Centre said it had been packed over the weekend, with Boots recording their busiest weekend of all time at the centre.