THE NEW VILLAGE RADIO  

Show Notes

• Archived Blog Post

  Date / Time: 11/9/2008 5:44 AM UTC

  Credit crunch Christmas: Bargain bonanza for shoppers as prices are slashed up to 70%
  

  By Sean Poulter
  Last updated at 10:07 AM on 08th November 2008

  • Comments (67)
  • Add to My Stories

  

  Christmas shoppers on Oxford Street in London

  Prices are being cut by up to 70 per cent this weekend as retailers prepare for a 'bargain basement' Christmas.

  Around half of families are tipped to spend less this year on food and presents than they did last time.

  Part of this will be due to the discounts on their regular purchases  -  but customers are also expected to go without many favourites in the credit crunch.

  The Mintel research came ahead of the traditional start to the festive shopping season.

  Sales and vouchers offering huge savings are available from today, with retailers promising the best bargains in 30 years.

  Some of the major names promising deals are Debenhams, with savings of up to 50 per cent on items for the home and partywear, House of Fraser, M&S, furniture and electrical chains.

  Laura Ashley and Bhs are also offering big savings on lighting and other items.

  M&S has its three-for-two festive deal on gifts. Stores are distributing hundreds of thousands of discount vouchers to try to kick-start shopping.

  Figures from the British Retail Consortium show that electrical goods and fashions are cheaper than they were a year ago, with further falls in the pipeline.

   

  More...

  • Millions WILL benefit as mortgage giants are forced to pass on historic interest rate cut
  • Bank of England backtracks on growth forecast and now predicts recession for next year
  • 5,000 UK jobs at risk if General Motors is not given US government handout
  • How small print allows banks to avoid passing on future rate cuts to country's homeowners
  • 300 people a DAY will plunge into insolvency as number of business failures soar past 4,000 in just three months
  • BA profits plummet by 92% in 'bleakest six months on record'

  The BRC says that much of the price-cut pressure is being driven by the major supermarkets.

  Its director general Stephen Robertson, said: 'It may be a difficult time for some retailers but, if you've got spare cash available, this will be a very good Christmas to be a customer.'

  
  

  Enlarge  

  Some of the high street savings available this festive season

  Mintel's warning comes after seven years of spending growth at Christmas, of around 5 per cent a year. It was prepared before the 1.5-point interest rate cut this week.

  Retail analyst at Mintel, Richard Perks, said: 'There is always a lot of emotional pressure to spend money and spoil everyone over the festive season, and during the years of unprecedented boom time, many Brits enjoyed lavish Christmases.

  'But this year, as budgets tighten, Christmas will become a much less indulgent affair.'

  

  Shoppers can expect some bargains this Christmas thanks to the credit crunch

  High street analyst Dr Tim Dennison, of Synovate Retail Performance, said it is too soon to judge what will happen this Christmas.

  'With petrol prices  -  one of the more noticeable pulls on the purse strings  -  on the wane and interest rates set to fall further, shoppers may decide that spending, where bargains are to be had, might seem more sensible than saving, particularly in light of current attitudes to the banking sector,' he said.

  John Lewis reported yesterday that sales across its department stores were down by 1.3 per cent last week compared to the equivalent period last year. This pattern has been seen seven weeks in a row.

  • Tags:
  • big deepression ?
  • Permalink