'Tis the season to keep on shopping

Traditionally around 10 million shoppers, or one-in-five Britons, descend on the high street but major online retailers and stores have repeated the recent trend of starting the sales from Christmas Day.

It is estimated that record amounts of spending will take place tomorrow and on Boxing Day as people rush to buy new gadgets and gizmos for their presents from apps for iPads to lenses for cameras.

Amazon's sales will launch at 4pm tomorrow, with up to £50 off on Toshiba Satellite L50-B-1NZ notebook and HP Pavilion 15 Notebooks.

Currys/PC World is expected to start its Boxing Day sale online tonight at 7pm after doing the same last year. Bargains are set to include £400 off on LG 50LB650V Smart 3D 50-inch LED TV, and £120.99 off a Samsung LT28D310 28-inch LED TV.

Currys has up to £200 off on its gadgets – including the 8GB Apple Macbook Air 13.3", which will be £849, down from £1,049. Argos launches its sale in stores on Boxing Day, offering 60 per cent off on 1,000 toys.

Beatties, which is owned by House of Fraser, starts its online sale today, with its furniture sale getting under way tomorrow.

It includes 50 per cent off men's suits, £500 off a Linea Riva three-seater sofa, and even 70 per cent off certain brands. Its Wolverhampton store will open at 7am on Boxing Day.

Next is keeping to its traditional Boxing Day sale, with major stores opening at 6am – again with up to 70 per cent of many items. John Lewis is offering sales starting on December 27, and one of the best deals will be £100 off the Surface Pro 3.

Debenhams is already offering many items at half price, while Marks & Spencer is currently offering 30 per cent off knitwear and 20 per cent off bags, gloves, hats, and scarves – with more bargains to be revealed in store on Boxing Day. It comes as it was today revealed that the UK high street has enjoyed a record year, with retail sales forecast to reach around £342 billion, according to government estimates.

The enormous popularity of new events such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday have contributed to the £48bn increase since 2010, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said.

Smaller firms have also contributed with their own record turnover of £72bn. The average person will spend £46.10 in the Boxing Day sales. And all major shopping centres in the Black Country and Staffordshire are getting ready for a bumper day. Online retail association IMRG and information services group Experian predict that online sales will reach more than £636m on Christmas Day, and £748m on Boxing Day, with a peak of £519,000 being spent per minute on Boxing Day.

Dan Wagner, ecommerce expert and founder of Powa Technologies, said that with many people were likely to receive new mobile devices for Christmas and then immediately use them to browse retailers. "This has already been a truly watershed year for mobile commerce, and the vast amount of sales expected to take place online over Christmas and Boxing Day will truly cement 2014 as a turning point in retail," he added.

According to the findings, shoppers expect to spend an average of £456 on Christmas gifts this year but plan to shave a whopping £109 off their bill by playing a waiting game for sales and discounts on the high street and online.

Vicky Mitchell, chief operating officer at Capital One, said: "Consumers are expecting generous discounts from retailers this year and are planning ahead to ensure they can take full advantage."