Shoppers to spend £2.5m a minute in last-ditch splurge

SHOPPERS are expected to splash out a staggering £2.5million a minute on Christmas shopping over the next four days.

A total of £5.3billion is set to be spent in high streets and online as families rush to complete festive purchases.

Up to 42 million shop visits are expected as some stores open around the clock from 8am this morning while others extend trading hours.

Total spending today – dubbed Frenzied Friday – is predicted to hit £1.55billion, up by 19 per cent on the equivalent day last year.

The last weekend before Christmas will be the busiest so far this year on high streets with experts expecting a shoppers’ crush despite coronavirus restrictions.

Retailers have been told they must limit the number of people allowed into shops at any one time to prevent a super- spreader event. They are extending trading hours and introducing shop-by-appointment systems. The Centre for Retail Research estimates spending across stores and websites will peak tomorrow.

Its Christmas spending study, commissioned by VoucherCodes.co.uk, said: ‘Super Saturday is set to be the peak trading day in December for stores in the lead-up to Christmas with 11.5million shoppers.

‘It is predicted footfall will be up 12 per cent in comparison to 2019. Despite this, forecasts predict that £1.65billion will be spent – £ 1.4billion offline and £250million online – which is 3 per cent less than in 2019.’ Spending is predicted to hit £800million on Sunday before rising to £1.3billion on Monday, giving a total four- day figure of £5.3billion. Retailers, both on the high street and online, have been running sales for weeks – with savings of more than 50 per cent – in a bid to grab a share of crucial festive spending. Diane Wehrle, of market research firm Springboard, said: ‘ The extension of opening hours is certainly a good idea as it enables shoppers to visit stores when it is quieter.

‘However, footfall between 9am and 6pm accounts for 88 per cent of the total.’ Eleven Primark stores will open through the night, while JD Sports and Footasylum are doing the same with some shops.

John Lewis, Next, Debenhams

and House of Fraser will be trading for record numbers of hours with many shops remaining open to 9pm. Boots and toy chain The Entertainer will have some outlets open until 10pm. Top shopping centres, such as the two Westfield complexes in London, Manchester’s Trafford Centre and Meadowhall in Sheffield, will have late opening.

From Monday, Marks & Spencer will open 400 stores until midnight up to December 23.

‘Frenzied Friday’