Panic buying lures Christmas shoppers to the high street

London's West-End saw a sea of shoppers on Saturday, as last minute Christmas consumers flooded the high streets as big stores start their sales a week early.

Bargain hunters hit stores across Britain on what is called 'Panic Saturday,' in search of discounts of up to 80 percent on the last Saturday before Christmas. John Lewis, M&S, Harrods and Mothercare all offered sales.

Retailers including River Island, H&M and Sports Direct are also offering discounts, with many more sales due to start early instead of after Christmas.

Around 12.6 million Britons are expected to hit the sales in search of cut-price buys, according to the Centre for Retail Research. And some retailers are expected to slash prices by up to 80 percent across a range of goods including clothing and jewellery. It is the fifth year in a row for record discounting with retailers cashing in on a pre-Christmas surge – in a bid to make up for lost profits over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday phenomenons.

Discounts are the highest since 2008

The discounts are the deepest since 2008 after the mild autumn and unexpectedly low Black Friday sales on the high street left retailers facing an 'uphill battle' to shift stock, Deloitte said.

Five clear days between Saturday and Christmas Day means shoppers are also expected to rely on deliveries of online purchases. Jason Gordon, consumer business partner at Deloitte, said: 'Compared to 2014, there is already a noticeable increase in both the volume and value of discounts in the run-up to Christmas this year. 'Whilst this is good news for consumers looking to grab a bargain, it is a clear sign that retailers are being faced with what is now an annual uphill battle.' Deloitte analysed the prices of more than 1.9 million products and found that the 'very wide spread' of discounts range between 5.6 percent and 90.9 percent. It believes the discounts will grow in number and size and average more than 53 percent after Christmas. Mr Gordon said: 'Christmas falls on a Friday this year, and, given the disappointing sales so far, we would expect the majority of retailers to launch their final big pre-Christmas discounts on the Saturday before Christmas. 'Limited Sunday trading hours on the Boxing Day weekend may also lead to slightly deeper-than-usual discounts in the post-Christmas sales window.'

Claire Davenport, managing director for VoucherCodes, said: 'Although we're expecting slightly fewer shoppers on the streets this Saturday, 12.6 million Brits is still a significant turnout and kicks off almost a full week of last minute spending. 'Retailers need to make sure they're prepared in order to capitalise on this pre-Christmas boost and offer customers the most seamless experience possible during this busy period. 'Big brands seem to be kicking off Christmas earlier every year with festive adverts and discount shopping days fuelling spending, but that doesn't stop Brits finishing their shopping at the last possible minute with billions to be spent on and offline in the final week before the big day.'