Britons 'set for £555m Christmas Eve spending spree'

Friday, 24 December 2010 12:00

British shoppers are set to splash out £555 million in a Christmas Eve shopping spree, according to a new report.

Sainsbury's Finance said up to 20 million people will hit the high street, spending around £23 million an hour, or £385,000 per minute.

The bank said the total outlay could be boosted further, as another 1.9 million consumers will be going out with no idea of how much they will spend.

Overall, 1.4 million people are expected to do more than half of their Christmas shopping today, while almost 600,000 will be buying up to 80 per cent of their festive gifts, food and drink.

Some 45 per cent of men and 39 per cent of women will be making some last-minute purchases, the lender added.

Stuart McKeggie, head of Sainsbury's Credit Cards, said: "The extreme weather conditions this December have wreaked havoc with people's shopping plans, which means that some of us will be dashing around the shops later than perhaps hoped."

According to recent figures from Barclays, British consumers are set to spend a record £48.9 billion this Christmas.

Find the best deal for credit cards from myfinances.co.uk

• Tags:
• household
,
• news
,
• spending habits