- Shops are cutting prices to try and cause a Christmas spending spree
- House of Fraser, Gap, Debenhams, Boots and Argos are all launching their sales
- Debenhams sold Kurt Geiger shoes marked down from £110 to £19
Major retailers are slashing prices by up to 80 per cent in the hope of triggering a last-minute Christmas spending binge.
Experts are predicting more bargains for shoppers next week than on November’s Black Friday as major stores such as Debenhams, House of Fraser, Gap, Boots and Argos all launch promotions.
It’s almost as if the January sales have already hit the high street as prices on clothes, shoes, toys and electricals are all tumbling. Debenhams is running what it calls the ‘Big Gift Event’, House of Fraser has its ‘A Very Merry Sale’ and Argos has a ‘£40million Christmas Clearance’.
Stores are slashing prices in a bid to trigger a Christmas spending spree bigger than Black Friday. Debenhams had KG Kurt Geiger Misha espadrille shoes down from £110 to £19
John Lewis has also been dragged into the price-cutting, particularly on beauty and perfume gift sets, under its ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ price promise.
Major chains are promoting savings of ‘up to 50 per cent’, however, a snapshot survey yesterday found some products are more than 80 per cent off the list price.
Debenhams had KG Kurt Geiger Misha espadrille shoes down from £110 to £19 – a saving of 82 per cent. There was also a Sistaglam Black Maya maxi dress with an 80 per cent saving, bringing it down to £20, and Silver Goddess high heel sandals by Carvela down by 79 per cent to £29.
Accountants PwC, which surveys the promotions offered by high street chains ahead of Christmas, is predicting big reductions to kick in over the next seven days.
Its consumer markets leader, Lisa Hooker, said: ‘As we approach Christmas, we are already seeing an uptick in promotional activity as retailers try to attract customers and clear festive stock, particularly as last week’s snow and ice put a dent on high street footfall across large parts of the country.
‘Last year, 98 per cent of the online retailers we surveyed had some kind of homepage promotion in the week before Christmas.
‘We are expecting to see more bargains for shoppers in the coming week, with more retailers on promotion next week than over Black Friday.’
Amid predictions that consumer spending across the festive period will be down for the first time in five years, retailers are trying to increase their market share with eye-catching offers.
H&M is cutting back its plans for expansion after recording its biggest decline in global quarterly sales in ten years. The fashion retailer said it would now be opening fewer branches and closing some existing stores after sales since September slipped around 4 per cent year-on-year.