London’s West-End saw a sea of shoppers on Saturday, as last minute
Christmas consumers flooded the high streets as big stores start their
sales a week early.
Bargain hunters hit stores across Britain on what is called ‘Panic
Saturday,’ in search of discounts of up to 80 percent on the last Saturday
before Christmas. John Lewis, M&S, Harrods and Mothercare all offered
sales.
Retailers including River Island, H&M and Sports Direct are also offering
discounts, with many more sales due to start early instead of after
Christmas.
Around 12.6 million Britons are expected to hit the sales in search of
cut-price buys, according to the Centre for Retail Research. And some
retailers are expected to slash prices by up to 80 percent across a range
of goods including clothing and jewellery. It is the fifth year in a row
for record discounting with retailers cashing in on a pre-Christmas surge –
in a bid to make up for lost profits over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday
phenomenons.
The discounts are the deepest since 2008 after the mild autumn and
unexpectedly low Black Friday sales on the high street left retailers
facing an ‘uphill battle’ to shift stock, Deloitte said.
Five clear days between Saturday and Christmas Day means shoppers are also
expected to rely on deliveries of online purchases. Jason Gordon, consumer
business partner at Deloitte, said: ‘Compared to 2014, there is already a
noticeable increase in both the volume and value of discounts in the run-up
to Christmas this year. ‘Whilst this is good news for consumers looking to
grab a bargain, it is a clear sign that retailers are being faced with what
is now an annual uphill battle.’ Deloitte analysed the prices of more than
1.9 million products and found that the ‘very wide spread’ of discounts
range between 5.6 percent and 90.9 percent. It believes the discounts
will grow in number and size and average more than 53 percent after
Christmas. Mr Gordon said: ‘Christmas falls on a Friday this year, and,
given the disappointing sales so far, we would expect the majority of
retailers to launch their final big pre-Christmas discounts on the Saturday
before Christmas. ‘Limited Sunday trading hours on the Boxing Day weekend
may also lead to slightly deeper-than-usual discounts in the post-Christmas
sales window.’
Claire Davenport, managing director for VoucherCodes, said: ‘Although we’re
expecting slightly fewer shoppers on the streets this Saturday, 12.6
million Brits is still a significant turnout and kicks off almost a full
week of last minute spending. ‘Retailers need to make sure they’re prepared
in order to capitalise on this pre-Christmas boost and offer customers the
most seamless experience possible during this busy period. ‘Big brands seem
to be kicking off Christmas earlier every year with festive adverts and
discount shopping days fuelling spending, but that doesn’t stop Brits
finishing their shopping at the last possible minute with billions to be
spent on and offline in the final week before the big day.’