Shoppers in search of savings

Middle-class shoppers are pouncing on bargains in charity shops and searching for savings in value hypermarkets and discounted retailers as the credit crunch bites. Oxfam, for example, reported a sharp rise in browsers in its 729 stores.

'We have had an improvement in footfall and sales in the last quarter, if not a little bit longer,' said its deputy trading director, Barney Tallack. He said that just as in the 1991 recession, customer numbers are increasing - but it is sometimes hard to get the stock, as hard-pressed consumers hang on to their old clothes for a little longer.

In another sign of tightening belts, Asda reports this weekend that a quarter of its sales growth in the past year has come from 'AB' shoppers - those in the top social classes. Chief executive Andy Bond said 'a tough economic climate means that more and more people are shopping for value'.