West End bosses are pinning their hopes on a forecast £186 million last-minute spending frenzy over the final three days before Christmas as struggling retailers slash prices to tempt out bargain hunters.
Their prediction of a late surge comes after a Black Friday flop and last weekend’s dismal weather, which deterred many shoppers from leaving home over a key period for retailers.
It would mean a welcome £6.2 million, or £103,000 a minute, ringing through tills for each of the 30 trading hours over the final three days before the holiday break.
Jace Tyrrell, chief executive of the New West End Company, said he expected “resilient” sales over the last shopping weekend and Christmas Eve to be in line with last year, which was in turn one of the strongest for a decade.
The short-lived mini-boom may come too late to save Christmas for some retailers but would be a welcome end to one of the toughest trading years on record.
It would also provide minor consolation following the embarrassing delay in the start of Elizabeth Line services, which had been due to begin in time for the peak shopping season.
Major names such as Debenhams have slashed prices by up to half on womenswear, beauty products and men’s shoes in a pre-Christmas sale. Topshop is offering up to 60 per cent off.
John Lewis has also got caught up in the discounting bonanza as it honours its “never knowingly undersold” pledge. Latest trading figures from the department store chain, which has its flagship on Oxford Street, show that its sales were up 1.8 per cent last week compared with last year in part due to “price matching competitor promotions”.
Mr Tyrrell said: “This is the second busiest weekend in the lead-up to Christmas after Black Friday and make or break for many retailers. We are anticipating that the 24th being a working day will result in more people staying in the city, and for in-store sales to reach £186m for those three days alone.
“Last year was one of the strongest Christmas trading periods we have seen in nearly a decade, and while retailers are facing stronger economic headwinds this year, London and the West End have remained resilient. As such we would expect sales over the Christmas Eve weekend to be roughly in line with 2017 totals.”
Ewan Venters, chief executive of Fortnum & Mason, said the Piccadilly store’s busiest hour of the year is likely to come on Saturday. It has now sold a record 16 Imperial hampers at £6,000 each.
