First day of post Christmas sales proves popular

According to recent reports the first day of post Christmas sales in the UK proved to be popular despite the economic downturn, with consumers flocking out in their droves in the hope of picking up some bargains as retailers continued to slash their prices. Many major retailers started huge sales early on Boxing Day, such as Debenhams, which claimed that this was its biggest sale ever with up to 70 percent of selected lines.

Officials have said that consumers started queuing up outside stores hours before they were due to open to ensure that they would be amongst the first in and would be able to pick up goods at knock down prices before everything flew off the shelves. The West End of London saw around half a million shoppers come through, all hoping to bag a bargain in the sales.

The manager of one shopping centre complex in Kent stated: “This is one of our busiest weeks of the year. People seem to be coming out for the day to enjoy themselves and judging from the people I’ve spoken to they are spending.”

An official from Selfridges said that there were thousands of people waiting outside the store for the doors to open. She said: “It was mental when they came into the store. I’ve never seen anything like it. People were running into the store and grabbing bags. Some women had four or five bags in their hands. Security had to get more people down to the store to help.”