Last-minute shoppers hit stores

Customers were lured with widespread discounting and the traditional Boxing Day sales starting up to 48 hours early.

Retailers reported brisk trading in a late Christmas rush following a stand-off with shoppers expecting massive discounts.

Richard Dodd, spokesman for the British Retail Consortium, said: "As we all know, it's been a really tough build-up to Christmas. It's clear that shoppers have turned out, particularly in the last three or four days, in large numbers but that has been driven by huge discounts.

"It remains to be seen to what extent shoppers who are out on the streets are actually spending. They are very unlikely to have spent more than last year and it is going to turn out to be a very poor Christmas. The question is just how much less than last year people have spent."

Anita Manan, senior analyst at Experian Business Strategies, said the average number of shoppers on Tuesday were up week-on-week by 47%.

She said: "These figures highlight the last-minute surge in trading that is taking place this year.

"They show that shoppers have clearly felt comfortable leaving their purchasing to the final few days to ensure that they make the most of the deep discounting and strong availability on the high street coupled with greater comfort of using internet channels up to the very last minute.

"The traditional slow and steady shopping patterns of previous years have now been replaced by a new breed of savvy consumers who either buy online or use internet sites to find the best prices on the high street, before doing one or two big swoops to the shopping centres."

DIY chain B&Q began offering 50% off all its kitchens and bathrooms, with discounts of up to 75% on some other items, and John Lewis is holding a clearance sale online. Superdrug will begin an online sale with discounts of up to 90% .