Yahoo Finance 'Panic Saturday' Starts Xmas Spending Spree
Christmas shoppers snapping up last-minute groceries and presents are expected to have spent more than £1bn on what has been dubbed 'Panic Saturday'.
Some 13 million consumers were set to spend £2.1m for every minute the shops were open, according to a report by the Centre for Retail Research (CRR).
Some of the biggest high street names slashed their prices - Debenhams reduced some gifts by 50%, Boots cut by 60% on some fragrances, while Marks & Spencer (Other OTC: MAKSF - news) sold some beauty products for half price.
At the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent, retailers said men's gadgets and women's clothing and handbags were topping Christmas wish lists.
Top sellers for women include cashmere accessories, Michael Kors handbags and Chanel perfume, while top sellers for men include gadgets like Nespresso coffee machines, Sonos wireless speakers, and PlayStation 4 and Xbox One games consoles.
David Barford, retail operations director at John Lewis, predicts the splurge will continue next week "now that schools have broken up and people have time off work".
He added: "As you'd expect at this time of year, beauty is performing particularly well, along with accessories like handbags and purses. Childrenswear is also having a strong week."
Delayed online orders, poor weather and earlier sales are expected to drive around 70 million shoppers to the high street between now and Christmas Eve - an increase of 14% on last year.
The CRR report also predicts in-store sales will reach £4.74bn over the five days before Christmas, another noticeable increase on last year (21%).
The CRR says the additional shopping day will contribute an extra £870m.
Department stores can expect to double their takings this weekend, data from payment processing company Worldpay suggests, with shops in the North of England set to benefit the most.
It said the number of card payments taken by department stores in some parts of the UK just before Christmas increased by as much as 224% this time last year, and even better figures are expected for 2014.
Tuesday is expected to be the busiest single shopping day before Christmas, with Visa Europe predicting shoppers will spend £1.3bn, or £15,278 every second, on its cards.
It estimates there will be 34 million transactions, with the peak coming in the lunch hour break between 1pm and 2pm.
Despite the increase in popularity of Black Friday , Visa (Xetra: A0NC7B - news) predicts the high street will continue to see its busiest day two days before Christmas.
