Stores full as shoppers start spending at last

The third day of Christmas sales put the smiles back on retailers' faces yesterday. Clifford German reports on a more positive mood on the high street after a quiet run-up to the festive period.

Stores and shopping centres reported queues, crowds and a surge in sales after a disappointing pre-Christmas period which left retailers with pounds 3bn of unsold goods and forced some stores to start cutting prices even before the holiday.

Shops selling clothing, electrical goods, household goods and food and drink all reported brisk sales over the weekend, and cash dispensers in some places ran out of money.

On London's Oxford Street, Selfridges, Marks & Spencer and Liberty all reported a rush of shoppers taking advantage of discounts of up to 50 per cent on clothing and 33 per cent on white goods. Selfridges had a record 90,000 shoppers on Saturday.

Outside London, stores and especially shopping centres were, if anything, busier still. Lakeside shopping centre at Thurrock, Essex, reported record business on Saturday, with car parks jammed and queues building up on the nearby roads.

Meadowhall Centre, Sheffield, reported 147,000 visitors on Saturday and spending on average up 5-10 per cent on last year. Fashion items were in demand as well as functional clothing and some shoppers were buying decorations for Christmas 1998, the centre's director Mohammed Dajani said.

The Metrocentre in Gateshead reported a record 146,000 visitors on Saturday and more than 60,000 by mid-afternoon on Sunday.

Gyle shopping centre, Edinburgh, was "extremely busy" on both days, a spokeswoman said. Buses brought shoppers from overflow car parks after the main ones filled soon after the centre opened. "Fashion goods, white goods and electrical goods are all in demand and shoppers have been taking advantage of big discounts on winter clothing."

While individual retailers and shopping centres mixed relief and jubilation, not all outlets have done as well. Shoppers have been reluctant to buy some electrical goods where they are waiting for new models, and sales of carpets and furniture tend to be slow in the immediate post-Christmas frenzy. Retailing experts remain cautious about the outlook for the rest of the sales season, with some analysts saying that shops will have to start a second round of price cuts next month.

"Pre-Christmas business did pick up last week, but November and the first half of December were very slow and we will not see the full picture until January 12, when weekly sales data for the period from November 30 to January 3 become available", Ann Grain, spokeswoman for the British Retail Consortium, said.