Desperate retailers offer huge discounts to attract the public through the snow
It should have been the busiest shopping day of the year. But as blizzard conditions caused massive disruption, Britain's beleaguered retailers were left forlornly offering deep discounts on clothes, gifts and household goods in an attempt to attract reluctant customers.
Crowds thronged pavements in London's West End and many shopping centres reported solid trading but experts say that dismal weather is likely to have taken an edge off business on an economically crucial weekend as retailers struggle to match last Christmas's takings. "The return of the snow and ice is a serious body blow for retailers who must have been desperately hoping the latest snow blast would not arrive until after the last Saturday before Christmas," said Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight, who said supply chains had been hit, too, as shipments of Christmas goods got stuck at ports.
The New West End Company, which represents 600 retailers on Oxford Street, Bond Street and Regent Street in the heart of the capital, said that prior to the weather closing in, it was expecting 1.2 million shoppers to spend as much as �130m this weekend. "It's a critical weekend for retailers," said Sarah Cordey, a spokeswoman for the British Retail Consortium (BRC). "Today is some people's last chance to go out and shop. People who haven't bought gifts will be pretty determined to go out and get them."
For many major retailers, the weeks running up to Christmas can account for as much as 60% of the year's turnover. But prospects are cloudy as consumers tighten their belts in advance of government spending cuts, which will begin to take effect next year. A BRC survey found that only 35% of stores expect a better Christmas than last year ? while 36% anticipate a worse one, and 29% see little change.
Anxious to reap rewards ahead of a VAT rise in early January, stores are offering discounts as deep as 50% or even 70%. French Connection, Gap and Warehouse are among those offering half-price stock ? usually a rarity until sales begin on Boxing Day.
At Bluewater shopping centre in Kent, some 160 staff worked to keep car parks free of snow, driving snowploughs and gritting trucks. General manager Andrew Parkinson said the centre, expecting 700,000 shoppers this week, was holding up surprisingly well: "For many people, this will be their last chance to shop. For others, it will be the beginning of their Christmas shopping," he said.
Freezing temperatures may encourage some shoppers to turn to the internet. But in Scotland, conditions were so poor that several major firms, including Amazon and Marks & Spencer, stopped taking orders as they struggled with a backlog of deliveries.
Andrew Bracey from the online supermarket Ocado, said his firm's trucks had been equipped with winter tyres: "The problem can be other road users who haven't taken proper precautions. When they get stuck, the roads get gridlocked," he said.
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