Shoppers spend £200m in a single day
Shoppers defied the recession and spent £200million in the West End on Saturday, according to figures released today.
Shops in Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street and the streets around them recorded the best pre-Christmas trade on a single day since the downturn began.
An estimated two million shoppers converged on the area to buy presents - a 33 per cent increase on last year.
Jace Tyrrell, a spokesman for the New West End Company, said sales of "big-ticket" items had been particularly strong as customers rush to beat January's increase in VAT from 15 per cent to 17.5 per cent.
A Panasonic 65-inch TV currently priced at £4,000 will go up by £87 with the rise in VAT next month.
"The shopping appetite has been exceptional - within the first hour we estimate that over 400 televisions had sold with the price point averaging over £1,000 a set," said Mr Tyrrell.
He added: "Fashion accessories did a roaring trade. Over 1,000 bags with an average price of £700 sold by midday on Saturday."
The army of UK shoppers were boosted by a European tourists, attracted to the capital by the exchange rate - a Mulberry Bayswater bag bought at Selfridges for £595 would cost around �750 on mainland Europe.
Meave Wall, store director at Selfridges, said: "We are outperforming our sales overall compared to last year on the same day, and all things Christmassy, especially, are flying off the shelves."
The strong Saturday sales coincided with the annual West End VIP day. The two-mile length of Oxford Street and Regent Street was closed to traffic from noon to 7pm on Saturday for the fifth year in succession in the run-up to Christmas.
Attractions included a German food market near Marble Arch; a pantomime with 30 dames outside Selfridges; a mulled wine and mince pie stand in front of Austin Reed. For those needed to relax there was a massage and a makeover salon on the pavement at House of Fraser.
Colin Barrow, leader of Westminster city council, said, "This special event gave our visitors and businesses some much needed cheer, and the atmosphere was amazing. The West End provides employment for 300,000 people so it is vital we do all we can to support it."
