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Bargain weekend as retailers slash prices

If you’re planning on doing your Christmas shopping soon, make it this weekend because reports out this week suggest that high street retailers are planning to slash prices by up to 70% this weekend as they prepare for a ‘bargain basement’ Christmas.

Around 50% of UK families are expected to spend less this year on food and presents than they did last year and retailers are hoping to maximise sales this weekend in order to boost their Christmas takings.

The company providing this report are Mintel research who say that sales and vouchers offering big savings are available from today. They say retailers are promising “the best bargains in 30 years.”

Some of the major rertailers who are promising huge money saving deals are Debenhams, House of Fraser, M&S, Laura Ashley and Bhs.

M&S has its 3-for-2 deal on gifts and assistants in stores are handing out hundreds of thousands of discount vouchers.

Figures released from the British Retail Consortium show that electrical items and fashion are cheaper than they were this time last year with further falls planned in the run up to December. However, even with huge discounts, traders are not confident of making a profit this Christmas.

High street analyst Dr Tim Dennison, of Synovate Retail Performance, is reported in the Daily Mail as saying it’s 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 told the newspaper.

Retailer John Lewis has reported that sales across its department stores were down by 1.3% last week compared to the same period in 2007 and added that this trend has been seen for 7 weeks in a row.