Stores slash prices in Christmas sales
A record number of stores opened yesterday as Britain embarked on a £6bn shopping spree.
The temptation to snap up bargains in the sales is expected to be enough to make many of us ignore repeated warnings of a credit crunch.
But a cut-throat battle for custom has forced leading chains to increase the number of outlets they opened on Boxing Day - and the scale of the reductions they are offering.
Savvy shoppers appear to have been deliberately saving their cash in order to get more for their money in the sales.
And some Britons were already on the lookout for bargains just hours after finishing their Christmas pudding.
Up to 4 million of us spent part of yesterday browsing store websites for potential purchases.
Major retailers, including Marks & Spencer, PC World, Argos, Comet and Dixons, all launched web sales just after midnight yesterday.
It was predicted this would lead to online
shoppers spending more than £50m on the same day they unwrapped their presents - up 66% from last year.
Stewart Fox-Mills, of the Post Office, said: 'Whereas families traditionally fought over the TV remote control on Christmas Day, the growing popularity of computers and the internet means more people will be fighting over the mouse this year.'
Consumer analyst James Roper, from the Interactive Media in Retail Group, added: 'The desire to shop doesn't go away and the web fills a niche when stores close. 'The peak spending time was likely to be after the Queen's speech and between 8pm and 10pm.'
And a spokesman for PC World said: 'Sitting in front of elderly relatives playing charades is one way to spend your Christmas Day - surfing for good deals is another. Boxing Day is one of the biggest shopping days of the year, and people are keen to get started on the sales.'
Despite the huge increase in online shopping, the tradition of post-Christmas price cuts on the high street shows no sign of stopping.
The owners of the country's major malls are increasingly insisting that retailers sign contracts requiring them to trade on Boxing Day.
Some 826 Woolworths outlets will open today, as will all Debenhams and House of Fraser department stores. Trevor Croxon, manager of the House of Fraser in the Lakeside shopping centre, Essex, said: 'We're offering up to 75% off some fashions, 50% off home and a further 10% off sale prices for account holders today and on December 27.'
Dealing with debt
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The manager of the nearby Sony Centre, Hitesh Rathod, said: 'Boxing Day is our busiest day of the year. Cameras, MP3 players and LCD TV packages are featuring the most dramatic price cuts.'
Retail analysts said that high street stores - particularly fashion and shoe chains - are carrying vast amounts of excess stock. As a result, the post-Christmas sales promise to feature some of the most ferocious cost-cutting seen for many years.
Jason Gordon, of accountants Ernst & Young, said: 'Consumers have lost the feel-good factor due to the credit crunch, falling house prices and rising household costs. 'It's no surprise that some retailers are having to offer such deep discounts in order to woo cashstrapped shoppers.'
Britons are carrying record levels of personal debt totalling £1.3 trillion, including mortgages. Credit card borrowing and loans have risen sharply in the last two months. That means bills will land with a particularly loud thud in the New Year - and consumers are expected to tighten their belts once the sales are over.
Laurent Souron, of the Centre for Economics and Business Research, said: 'We expect that consumers will start to feel the strain of the recent credit crunch in 2008.
'Nevertheless, we expect the fall in retail sales to be at a subdued pace as cuts in interest rates and price reductions will support sales.'
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