- Thousands of shoppers queued outside branches of Next around the UK before the shops opened at 6am
- Queue at Selfridges began at 11.30pm yesterday with international shoppers desperate for deals on luxury goods
- Chinese visitors were predicted to be the biggest spenders, shelling out nearly £1,400 on each transaction
- Customers at Harrods entertained by circus acts and butlers handing out gourmet snacks
- But the sales started yesterday with retail websites believed to have received 117million visits on Christmas Day
Foreign tourists led the stampede of bargain-hunters to luxury stores in London today, with more than £50million set to be spent in the West End as the Boxing Day sales began.
Visitors from China were predicted to be the biggest spenders of all, with many tourists saying that a trip to the sales is one of the highlights of a holiday in Britain.
At Selfridges on Oxford Street, bargain-hunters from around the world began queuing before midnight on Christmas Day, before rushing in and descending on stalls selling super-luxury goods which were heavily discounted.
Carnage: Many foreign tourists were among the bargain-hunters who squeezed into Selfridges on Oxford Street today
Luxury: Shoppers snapped up pricey handbags and other high-end items which had been heavily discounted
Chilly: Some of those who waited outside Selfridges for hours overnight appeared to be suffering in the cold weather
Keen to buy: Shoppers inside Selfridges took advantage of a rare opportunity to pick up discounted goods
Packed out: Oxford Street appeared almost as busy as it was during the pre-Christmas rush
A spokesman for Selfridges said that the queue for the sales began at 11.30 last night - more than nine hours before the doors opened to customers. After the shop opened its doors at 9am, long queues formed at the stalls for Gucci, Mulberry and Prada, with a significant number of shoppers apparently visitors from China.
Retail director Sue West said that Boxing Day was a big occasion for Chinese customers, as well as visitors from continental Europe.
Sales: A long queue formed outside Selfridges on London's Oxford Street today as shoppers hunted for Boxing Day bargains
Committed: Shoppers began waiting outside the department store from 11.30 last night, more than nine hours before it opened
Luxury: Selfridges' stalls for Gucci, Prada and Mulberry had long lines as shoppers targeted high-end goods
Engulfed: A baby in a pushchair which his mother has covered in clothes at the Highcross shopping centre in Leicester
Multi-tasking: The child's mother was apparently using the pushchair as a shopping trolley as well as transporting her child
'The Chinese market is hugely important to Selfridges,' she said. 'It's one of the fastest growing international markets that we have.'But likewise, we have a lot of international customers. You'll see a lot of Europeans today.'
Wang Tianyi, a student from China who is studying in Liverpool, and his girlfriend Sun Yeting, who is on holiday visiting him, queued from 4am to snap up luxury goods as gifts for their families.
Wei Tuiao, 23, who is also from China, said: 'I have been into Selfridges this morning to get a Louis Vuitton handbag.'
Eyal Keden, an Israeli tourist, queued from 6.30am to buy bags and shoes, saying: 'It's amazing - we don't have this in Israel.'
Treats: Harrods hired butlers to hand out gourmet canapés to those waiting in the queue outside the store in Knightsbridge
Entertainment: Circus acts such as this fire breather were also on hand to keep the crowd from getting bored
On offer: One of the butlers shows off the canapés being offered to customers who had queued for hours
Grateful: A shopper waiting to get into the luxury Central London store snaps up a proffered canapé
Star: Magician Dynamo taking a selfie with appreciative customers outside Harrods
Nevy Frega, 20, and Hassan Frega, 19, from Egypt, said: 'We come to the sales every year, it is a great opportunity to buy lots of designer and high street clothes - we love British fashion.'Global Blue, a tax-free shopping consultancy, said that Chinese shoppers were set to be the biggest overseas spenders this year, with each customer spending an average of £1,367 per transaction.
Ms West added that Boxing Day is 'normally one of the biggest days of the year', as it is one of only two sales which the shop holds every year.
Selfridges was the first major British store ever to open on Boxing Day, she added, as she paid tribute to the effect of ITV drama Mr Selfridge in boosting public interest in the firm.
Queues: Nearly 2,000 shoppers stood in line in central Cardiff looking for bargains at the local branch of Next
Laden: A woman at the Next branch in Cardiff surrounding by her Boxing Day bargains
Keen: Shoppers outside Zara's flagship store on Oxford Street in London
Anticipation: Shoppers queue up for the Next sale at Berryden, Aberdeen
'We've seen a lot of new clients, a lot of new customers come in, ever since the series went live,' Ms West said. 'A lot of curious customers who haven't been in before.'Jeremy Piven is now a big pin-up for most of the staff in the store.'
Other stores are laying on food and entertainment to celebrate the start of the Christmas sales, and to offer respite to those queuing outside.
Harrods kicked off its winter sale with mugs of hot chocolate and gourmet smoked salmon canapés served by butlers to people in the queue, while they were serenaded by a string quartet and watched a performance by street magician Dynamo.
Crowds: Even at 6am, the Next in North Tyneside was packed with bargain-hunters
Helpful: A shop worker hands out plastic bags to shoppers queuing up in Sheffield
Home again: A satisfied customer leaving Next in Cheltenham clutching a large rug
Overloaded: Shoppers struggle with large bags as they leave the sales at Next in Peterborough this morning
Selfridges and Liberty are offering designer goods at a fraction of their usual price, while both Next and Marks & Spencer are boasting discounts of up to half on sale items.At the Westfield shopping centres in East London and West London, 85,000 shoppers passed through the doors by 11.30am.
A coffee shop opened at 3am at the original White City branch to cater for the 1,000 visitors, including tourists from China and Nigeria, who had queued overnight.
At the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent, bargain-hunters queued up from 2am, with 4,000 people believed to have gathered by 6am.
Around 130,000 shoppers were expected to visit throughout the course of the day, with a large number travelling from France specially.
Holding back the hordes: Security guards at the Highcross centre in Leicester had to stop the crowds from flooding shops
Breaking in: Giggling shoppers rushed in through the doors once the security guards relented
General manager Robert Goodman said: 'By 9am, our car parks were busy with guests arriving to have breakfast before starting their sale shopping.
'In fact, we served our first coffees at around 5am and our restaurants expect to be busy throughout the day.'
The director of Cabot Circus in Bristol predicte that 100,000 shoppers would arrive today, with similar numbers in the next few days.
And St David's shopping centre in Cardiff said that it would make around £2million from 150,000 customers.
Online sales started on Christmas Eve and millions are believed to have already snapped up goods from the comfort of their own homes.
Getting ready: Shoppers queuing outside Harrods in Knightsbridge, where dozens of butlers are set to help customers
Luxury: Shoppers waited in anticipation of gourmet canapés and a performance by magician Dynamo
Crush: Shoppers queue up inside Manchester's Trafford Centre to try and get in to Selfridges
Experian said that between December 24 and 26, some 45million hours would be spent shopping online.
By the end of December, it is estimated there will have been three billion visits to retail websites in the UK, which will be the first time that figure has been reached in a single month.
The information services company said this proved consumer spending habits are changing, with more and more people looking to spend money on Christmas Day itself.
Early: Shops opened from 6am today to help bargain-hunters spend as much time as possible inside
Tired: One early-morning shopper stifles a yawn as he waits outside Next in Sheffield at 5.30am
Keen: Over 1,000 shoppers were reported to be queuing in the Silverburn shopping centre in Glasgow
James Murray, digital insight manager at Experian, said: 'Christmas 2013 has consistently outperformed 2012 on virtually every single shopping day this December, with online visits from Christmas Eve through to Boxing Day up from last year, a record breaking Cyber Monday and the emergence of the even busier Middle Cyber Monday.'Shopping habits are changing, with Christmas Day becoming a significant shopping day during the period.'
As a result, we anticipate a more sustained shopping pattern during this period, moving away from the traditional peaks and troughs usually evident during holiday season.'
Laden: Bargain-hunters braved the cold and an early start in order to get all their shopping done today
Handful: Many shoppers struggled to hold all of the goods they had bought in the sales
Overflowing: A shopping bag in Cheltenham full of clothes many of which were discounted by 50 per cent
Robert Goodman, the general manager, said: 'We are ready for a bumper Boxing Day this year.
'With the strongest retail offer to date, with 50 new brands launching with us this year, we are expecting visitor numbers to be on a par with Boxing Day last year.
'This will begin what is likely to be our busiest six days of the year.'
No comments:
Post a Comment