Bargain hunters splash out £60,000 a second in post-Christmas sales
Bargain-hungry shoppers were expected to spend nearly £3 billion – around £60,000 a second – today on the second day of the post-Christmas sales.
The amount of money spent is predicted to be even more than the estimated £2.7bn spent in shops and online yesterday.
High streets were expected to see a repeat of some of the frenzied scenes witnessed yesterday as shoppers queued for hours to get the best bargains. Diehards cashed in on a discount bonanza at 540 Next stores with early birds braving freezing temperatures outside Birmingham's Bullring before midnight until doors opened at 6am.
A total of £2.22bn was projected to have been spent in stores on Thursday, up 5.7 per cent on last year, according to the Centre for Retail Research.
Online shoppers spent £540m – a new daily record – on Boxing Day, up 15 per cent on last year, the internet retailers' association, said.
Total spending today could be even higher, with shops expected to take £2.57bn – up more than seven per cent on last year's £2.4bn on December 27. Online sales are expected to peak at around £400m.
Bargain-hunters at Next in Wolverhampton
Yesterday, Selfridges on Oxford Street in central London saw some of the largest queues.
As 3,500 shoppers surrounded the huge shopping emporium, it was apparent the queue was made up of people from all around the world – particularly from China.
The significant presence of international shoppers was confirmed by Global Blue tax-free shopping experts. Shoppers from Qatar spend the most on average per transaction (£1,714) followed by the United Arab Emirates (£1,372).
But a spokesman said Chinese shoppers are the biggest spenders overall. They spend £1,367 on average per transaction, but are more likely to return to the tills with more goods.
Selfridges celebrated its most successful ever first hour of trade, taking more kicked off its winter sale and offered mugs of hot chocolate, smoked salmon canapes and blankets to keep people warm in the queue.
Department store Liberty offered designer goods at a fraction of their usual price, while both Next and Marks & Spencer boasted discounts of up to 50 per cent on sale items.
