WITH less than three weeks to go until Christmas, seasonal shoppers have finally hit the streets in droves.

Bargain-hunters braved cold temperatures and crowded streets at the weekend to take advantage of sale prices in dozens of Worcester city centre stores.

Shopping centres were packed to the rafters and, despite the grip of the credit crunch, tills were ringing.

“Christmas seems to have started,” said John Kendrick, manager of Cathedral Plaza shopping centre.

“It’s later than normal, but it’s started and we’re as optimistic as we can be for the rest of the season.

“Customers have never had it so good with regard to sale deals available.”

In the High Street, queues were unavoidable as major chains such as House of Fraser and Marks & Spencer slashed prices.

Erica Burgess, manager of CrownGate Shopping Centre, said such sales had been a major attraction. She said: “Retailers are working extremely hard to entice shoppers. CrownGate has had an excellent few weeks. Footfall is still in decline, but we are well above the national average.”

Worcester’s independent stores are also feeling the festive boom.

At Mac and Jacs Deli in Friar Street, owner Jacky Hughes experienced a normal Christmas weekend. She said: “It certainly wasn’t any quieter than last year.”

For Tim Evans, owner of film and memorabilia store Videodrome, on Broad Street, internet sales are all-important.

He said: “People aren’t spending in store like in previous years, but that’s the trend everywhere.

“We used to be busy for the eight weeks before Christmas, now it’s down to three weeks and I know we’ve got a recession, but the thing that really affects retail spending more and more every year is the internet. This Christmas, about two thirds of our sales are online.”

Yesterday, shoppers were expected to spend £450 million online – a 25 per cent increase on last year.

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