The £5 BILLION Boxing Day sales spree: A third of Britons will hit the shops in much-needed boost for the ailing high street retailers
- One-third of Britons plan to hit the sales either online or on the High Street
- Retail revenues plummeted this year wiping an estimated £17bn off shares
- Almost 70 per cent of shoppers admitted the are planning to shop on the web
Shoppers are preparing for a £5billion spending spree in the Boxing Day sales, analysts predicted yesterday.
Almost a third of Britons said they planned to hit the sales online or on the High Street.
Retail revenues plummeted this year, wiping around £17billion off share prices at some of the UK’s biggest chains. Many had started their sales early in the run-up to Christmas.
Major stores will dramatically reduce the price of goods to tempt shoppers through the doors
The tough conditions mean discounts are expected to be the biggest for years as retailers hope to tempt shoppers back.
Analysts found discounts had already hit record levels yesterday, and predicted prices would go even lower over the next few days.
Shoppers were expected to spend more than £1billion online on Christmas Day, and a further £5billion online and in stores today.
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Men were tipped to outspend women, spending £227 each, compared with £151 for women, according to research by Barclaycard.
In another blow for Britain’s struggling high streets, 69 per cent of shoppers said they would do most of their shopping online – up from 42 per cent last year.
Meanwhile, research by website Love The Sales found record discounts on offer – averaging at 41 per cent yesterday.
Retailers including John Lewis and Marks & Spencer have all begun their online sales, with eBay and Amazon set to follow suit today.
Management consultancy Deloitte has predicted average discounts will hit 52 per cent during the Boxing Day sales.
A Love The Sales spokesman said consumers were most likely to find bargains in fashion departments, where average discounts were 43 per cent yesterday.
The High Street has been struggling all year as shoppers spend their cash online
Many shoppers are using the internet and companies such as Amazon to source bargains
Free parking blueprint to save Britain’s high streets: Minister says small shops must be given more help to fight online giants
Government minister Jake Berry, pictured, believes that town centres and traditional high streets should offer time-limited free parking to encourage people back from out of town centres or shopping online
Free parking should be brought back to struggling high streets to aid local businesses, a minister says.
It would help them compete against out of town shopping centres and online giants, Jake Berry told the Mail.
The high streets minister suggested that time-limited free parking – up to two hours, say – should be adopted by councils to attract shoppers back to town centres.
Town centres should be radically redesigned, with GP surgeries and libraries brought in to increase footfall, Mr Berry said. Empty shops should be transformed into community centres or leisure facilities to help existing retail businesses survive. Others could be converted into homes to ensure high streets do not become no-go areas. He called on councils to appoint ‘high street sheriffs’ to help.
Shops should do more to make their outlets welcoming to customers, he said. High street firms complain about having to pay high business rates while online giants pay little tax, and Mr Berry said he knew ministers needed to act.
He reiterated that, if there is no international agreement, the Government will bring in an internet purchase tax by 2020 to ensure internet firms pay their fair share.
He urged local authorities to bid for a share of a £675million pot to help transform high streets into community hubs.
Mr Berry told the Mail: ‘They may look to bring in childcare centres, GP surgeries and libraries into town centres. What we need is a major re-imagining of town centre space to support retail.
‘Parking is another issue that is locally determined, but what about free parking for a certain period of time,’ he said. ‘If local authorities want to bring people back, give shoppers free parking on the high street so retailers can compete with shopping centres.
‘It has been tried in a number of places. Where I have seen it succeed, the free parking lasts for two hours or so, and it means new people keep coming back with fresh money in their pockets.’
Mr Berry believes empty shops could be transformed into community centres
Mr Berry said the government was considering introducing an internet purchase tax to level the playing field with the high street and town centre
Mr Berry believes making parking easier in town centres will bring back shoppers
Councils in England made an £819million surplus from parking fines, fees and permits last year.
The Local Government Association says the money is ploughed back into local transport and maintaining car parks.
But critics who say town halls use motorists as cash cows will welcome the minister’s call. Mr Berry said he is optimistic about the future of high streets despite the threat posed by online firms.
‘This Christmas, 80 per cent of purchases are still being made face to face,’ he said. ‘The market place was the first social network, and the personal touch that the high street can bring needs to be maintained in the future.’
The £675million Future High Streets Fund was announced in the Budget and followed recommendations from town centre expert Sir John Timpson.
Last night he said: ‘I have learnt, from my own business, that the best way to get things done is to give people on the frontline the freedom to get on with the job in the way they know best.’
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