It's panic Thursday! Our guide to the best bargains as last-minute rush means 60% more shoppers will hit high streets today... and it is set to be chaos on the roads and railways too

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A last-minute Christmas shopping rush will begin today, however it may not be enough to save many struggling stores.

Some analysts have dubbed today 'Panic Thursday' with the number of people expected in high streets and shopping centres up 60 per cent on normal.

The schools have broken up and millions of families will complete gift shopping and start the supermarket run to stock up on fresh food for the festive break. 

This will undoubtedly help bricks and mortar stores, which have been squeezed by the rise of internet shopping. 

 

Christmas shoppers pass retailers on the main shopping street in Bristol yesterday

However, one report warns there is 22 per cent increase in the number who are in 'significant financial distress' compared to a year ago.

Strong Christmas takings are all that stand between many businesses and putting up the shutters in the New Year.

The troubles at Toys R Us, which faces putting up the shutters on 100 outlets with more than 3,000 redundancies, are well known.

There are also questions about the future of Steinhoff International, which is the South African parent company of Poundland, Harvey's and Bensons for Beds in the UK, over an accounting scandal.

Many famous names have been running promotions since Black Friday at the end of November. 

Savings of up to 80 per cent on fashions, shoes have been on offer from the likes of Debenhams and House of Fraser.

John Lewis, where sales were last week down 0.6 per cent year-on-year, has had to match rivals' reductions on big brands.

Chains like Argos and Currys have also been promoting deals. The pressure is particularly strong on independents and small chains.

Shoppers pass signs offering stock discounts in the window of retailers on the main shopping street in Bristol yesterday

People make the most of Christmas shopping on Oxford Street in London's West End on Monday

Research by business recovery experts, Begbies Traynor, shows the number of retailers in 'significant financial distress' is 43,677, which is up by 22 per cent on a year ago.

Retail expert at the firm, Julie Palmer, said: 'With Christmas Day just around the corner, retailers have all but run out of time to turn around their ailing fortunes after a particularly disappointing few weeks of trading following the apparent success of Black Friday at the end of November.

'The increasingly frantic promotional and discounting activity we are seeing this week across the high street is simply not having the same effect on consumers as it once did. 

'UK shoppers are savvier than ever and prepared to search online for the best deals, having grown wise to the gimmicks and discounts on offer in store, which many now realise may not be as good as they first appear.

'I fear UK retailers are now in the midst of a perfect storm, with November's interest rate decision, rising inflation, falling real wages, reduced credit availability and increasing Brexit uncertainty all combining to put unprecedented strain on household budgets this Christmas season, pushing consumer confidence to an all-time low.'

She added: 'Any retailers hoping to enjoy one last heyday in the run up to Christmas are likely to be sorely disappointed.

'Although this week's milder weather might very well encourage a few extra shoppers to leave the fireside for a day of last minute spending, I'm afraid it's probably too little, too late.'

Estimates by the ShopperTrak National Retail Index suggest there will be a genuine rush to stores through to Christmas Eve.

Shoppers browse in a toy shop in Bristol yesterday. Toys R Us faces closing 100 outlets with more than 3,000 redundancies

Numbers are expected to be by 60 per cent on a typical Thursday and 37per cent higher than a typical Friday.

Saturday is expected to be the busiest shopping day of the year to date, particularly for supermarkets, with footfall up 63 per cent.

ShopperTrak's Steve Richardson said: 'With fears of online orders will not reach consumers before Christmas Day, shoppers will step out from behind their screens and take to the High Street to finish off their festive gift buying in physical stores.

'Panic Thursday marks the start of the steady build-up of in-store footfall as we head towards the big day.'

Some 14m people are expected to hit the shops on 'Super Saturday' spending £1.4billion in stores, according to research by VoucherCodes and the Centre for Retail Research (CRR).

Paul Lewis, of VoucherCodes, said: 'With Christmas falling on a Monday this year, Saturday December 23 will be particularly busy on the high street, as Brits brace the busy crowds to snap up last-minute festive purchases.

'A number of retailers will also be bringing their Boxing Day sales forward this year, so Brits should head online to check out the great savings to be made on bigger ticket items including electronics and home appliances.'  

Get set for road and rail chaos as Christmas getaway starts TODAY 

The Christmas getaway began last night as an estimated 1.3million drivers took to the roads in an attempt to beat weekend traffic misery.

Motorists were warned to expects jams lasting more than four hours today amid predictions that at least 20million will make car journeys over the festive period.

Rail works and strikes are expected to add more pressure to roads already clogged with shoppers and delivery drivers.

Motorists were warned to expects jams lasting more than four hours today amid predictions that at least 20million will make car journeys over the festive period

The annual getaway for families has come early this year as most schools have now broken up for Christmas.

Traffic is expected to peak tomorrow with more than 13million expected to make car journeys of at least 20 miles.

RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said: 'We strongly urge drivers planning long journeys to avoid this day if they possibly can.'

Predicted black spots include a 65-mile stretch of the M6 from Haydock in Merseyside to Gailey in South Staffordshire, where drivers could face delays of more than four hours today.

Parts of the M1 in Bedfordshire and Leicestershire are also expected to experience jams lasting more than an hour, according to the traffic analysis firm Inrix.

The AA's Vince Crane said the roads would be harder hit this year with Christmas falling on a Monday. He added: 'Many drivers may hope that journeys would be spread across the weekend, but it means more days of traffic as the getaway from work on Friday is followed by the last major shopping opportunity on Saturday and visits to friends and family on Sunday.' Network Rail's £160million engineering project is likely to cause significant disruption as 32,000 workers tackle 260 projects across the country, closing or restricting major stations and lines. The works – mainly in London and the south east – are scheduled to start on Saturday and continue until January 2.

Inrix said traffic peaked last year at around 5pm on the Friday before Christmas day, with more than 300 jams recorded. The worst was a ten-mile queue on the A5 off the M1 that lasted more than five hours.

Highways England is lifting 400 miles of roadworks this year to ease disruption.

The weather is unlikely to result in serious travel difficulties as the forecast for Christmas is largely mild, although the Met Office has said fog and wintry showers may cause problems for some.

Chief meteorologist Steve Ramsdale said: 'The early signs are that most of us will have a green Christmas rather than a white one and there'll be some rain around. There may be some wintry showers in the North.'

More than 4.5million people are expected to go abroad over Christmas and the New Year. Heathrow is expecting 1.7million departing passengers during the period.