West End braced for record evening rush

Carry on: Oxford Street stores are expecting a last-minute shopping scrum
12 April 2012

Hundreds of thousands descended on the West End today on what is expected to be the biggest Christmas shopping day on record.

Retailers have even identified what they think will be their busiest single minute — 5.15pm.

They predict some £600 million will be spent in the West End this week and are hoping the last-minute rush will make up for poor December sales

figures, which have been badly hit by the big freeze.

Visa Europe said it expected to process about 26.5 million transactions, worth more than £1.2 billion, on its cards across Britain today — 20 per cent up on the same time last year.

That equates to consumers spending an average £833,000 every minute, or nearly £14,000 a second.

A spokesman for the British Retail Consortium said: "This year, more than ever before, those final few days before Christmas will be crucial with stores desperate to catch up on trade they lost during the snow."

Jace Tyrell of the New West End Company, which represents 600 retailers, added: "We're expecting today to be one of the busiest of the year. We're predicting about 750,000 shoppers. It's likely to be mostly men who have left things until the last minute."

At John Lewis, David Barford, director of selling operations, said: "This week is always incredibly busy for us but there will also be an element of pent-up demand after shoppers were unable to get to branches because of the weather. Customers get to a point where they have to shop."

Anne Pitcher, buying and merchandising director at Selfridges, said customers had been shopping there in

high numbers despite the weather: "We fully expect the last couple of days before Christmas to be busier than ever." Some stores announced extended opening hours for people who missed online deadlines.

Supermarkets were also preparing for their busiest day of the year. Morrisons pinpointed 5.15pm as its most frantic minute of the year as shoppers decide to buy festive food now rather than risk leaving it until tomorrow.

Marks & Spencer said it was expecting a big day for food sales, particularly in the capital. "Our turkey sales are up 320 per cent across Britain compared with this time last year and particularly at our Marble Arch and Oxford Street stores," said a spokeswoman.

"We are also seeing a rise in grocery sales as Londoners stock pantries for an unexpected Christmas at home."

Londoners have also been rushing to stock up on alcohol. M&S wine expert Andrew Bird said: "Our stores in the capital are performing well ahead of the rest of the country, with wine and beer sales up 12 per cent."

Ocado reported a last minute scramble for delivery slots. "Yesterday was very busy as people tried to grab the last available," said a spokesman.

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