80% OFF AS STORES IN EARLY SALES WAR

Desperate bid to boost Xmas spending

The heavy snowfall didn’t help as many turned to online shops

CHRISTMAS has come early as a high street sales war has sparked a bargains bonanza.

Shoppers are seeing prices drop by up to 80%, with stores keen to shift stock before the holidays.

The higher cost of living, uncertainty over Brexit and bad weather have contributed to a drop in festive spending this year, so shops are slashing prices to get people through the doors.

Millions have already swooped on offers from the likes of Gap, House of Fraser, John Lewis and Zara. Argos has launched a £40million Christmas clearance sale, while Currys PC World and Debenhams are also staging discount events.

The sales, said to be better than Black Friday, have offers on clothing, perfume, accessories, toys and gadgets.

A Bush turntable with speakers was £69.99 at Argos and is now £39.99. And a Linea Suki coat, from House of Fraser, is £85, down from £169. This week, £7billion has already been spent. On Super Saturday, 14.4 million shoppers are due to splurge £1.6billion.

Data from the Centre for Retail Research and VoucherCodes.co.uk suggests shoppers will beat the £1.1billion blown on December 23 last year.

Dr Tim Denison, of Ipsos Retail Performance, explained: “The heavy snowfall will have done retailers no favours. “Many people will have switched to shopping online but a strong Christmas performance always relies on that festive spirit that is created in shops.”

DR TIM DENISON ON ONE REASON FOR EARLY SALES