Shoppers to spend almost £3bn in Sales on December 27

More than £2.7bn was spent in stores and online across the UK on Boxing Day, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The expected spend on December 27 will be the UK’s record for daily retail spending, beating the previous figure of £2.8bn.

A total of £2.22bn was estimated to have been spent in stores on Boxing Day, according to the Centre for Retail Research. Added to the £540m spent by online shoppers, according to the IMRG, retailers took a total of £2.7bn on Boxing Day.

This is expected to increase on December 27, with store takings predicted to rise to £2.57bn and with £400m expected to be spent online.

The start of the Boxing Day Sales heralded bumper takings for retailers, although the profitability of the deep discounts needed to lure shoppers in remains to be seen.

The New West End Company said 1.4 million shoppers are expected to have spent £50m in central London on Boxing Day, the Guardian reported.

Shoppers queued in their droves outside shops on Boxing Day, with 3,500 outside Selfridges in London and 4,000 outside the Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham.

Some stores opened at 6am with shoppers queuing overnight to be the first through the doors.

Selfridges celebrated its most successful ever first hour of trade, according to Sky News, taking more than £1.9m between 9am and 10am - up 16% compared with last year.

Harrods’ winter sale also started - the retailer provided mugs of hot chocolate, smoked salmon canapes and blankets to keep people warm in the 4,000-strong queue outside the department store.