Today is one of the busiest shopping days of the year – as thousands of people descend on stores across Hampshire in a bid to bag a Christmas bargain.
Car parks are expected to be filled to capacity in Southampton as the Christmas shopping season gets into full swing.
And many retailers are hoping it will be just as busy as last weekend when Black Friday saw records broken at stores and shopping centres across Southampton. The city’s flagship John Lewis store recorded its best-ever day of sales for the day.
The discount bonanza, which saw up to 100,000 shoppers descend on the city centre, saw the store record a 25 per cent increase on its previous best sales figure for one day.
And WestQuay Shopping Centre saw 89,000 people walk through its doors, recording a 34 per cent sales swing on last year.
The sales phenomenon, an import from the United States, has been a fixture for several years but reached a new level this year with most city centre stores offering cut-price offers.
People started queuing before 7am to get into stores, with some such as John Lewis opening early and others, such as those in WestQuay Shopping Centre, opening later into the evening.
Nationally, John Lewis recorded its best-ever week of trading, while the Southampton store leapt from its average position of eighth out of 42 stores for turnover, to third.
John Lewis in Southampton
Branch manager Mark Venables said: “It was the busiest day I have ever experienced in 35 years in the business.”
WestQuay manager Andy Collyer said 89,000 visited the centre on Black Friday, in comparison with 67,000 last year.
He said: “I think we can clearly see that shoppers have embraced Black Friday here in Southampton and were actively going after bargains on the day across all sectors, with sales being up just over 34 per cent on Black Friday 2013.
“It was great that so many WestQuay retailers got behind Black Friday.
“It provided a kick-start to the Christmas season and, with a wealth of activities taking place in the coming weeks, there’ll be more to come.”
Tim Keeping, general manager at The Marlands Shopping Centre, said the opening of new stores such as Peacocks and Moss Bros, had boosted the centre’s figures.
He said: “Some retailers have reported record-breaking sales at The Marlands Shopping Centre, and it has been very busy all weekend.
“This was helped by the impact of all the new stores at the centre.”
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