Dubbed the Shop West End VIP (Very Important Pedestrians) Day, retailers joined forces to give shoppers the red carpet treatment, reporting strong sales and record footfall numbers.
The Oxford and Regent Street shops offered complimentary hospitality throughout the day, including luxury goody bags and celebrity styling services.
The West End typically attracts 40 million shoppers over the six weeks leading up to Christmas, spending in excess of£1 billion.
Speaking on the day, Selfridges chief executive Paul Kelly said: 'The Christmas shopping tempo definitely increases from today. Santa arrived in our store, in the West End's only Christmas grotto. This is a very important day for Oxford Street.' A Santa arrived on a reindeer-drawn sleigh to open the grotto.
John Lewis managing director Charlie Mayfield said: 'Today's event has been a showcase for Oxford Street at its very best. Our customers have hugely enjoyed a hassle-free shopping day. Like other traffic-free events, today has proved a real commercial success.'
Shops such as Austin Reed, Evans and Ted Baker offered complimentary menus of mulled wine, eggnog, mince pies and toasted chestnuts to weary shoppers.
The event, which ran from 11am to 4pm, brought the streets alive with Christmas entertainment, with comic, musical and theatrical performances, as well as other street entertainment, taking place throughout the day.
New West Company event organiser Jace Tyrrell said: 'Crucially, it was a great day for trade, with retailers reporting fantastic sales during this all-important festive trading period, which many retailers rely on to account for over half of their annual turnover.'
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