ELEVEN million bargain hunters will spend £3.9billion today in a Boxing Day bounceback for retailers.
They will queue from 6am, lured by up to 70 per cent off — with clothes, gadgets and accessories top of wish-lists.
Spending will be up 11 per cent on the same day last year when Tier 4 rules shut many stores.
Helen Dickinson, of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Retailers are pulling out all the stops to keep customers safe.”
The West End is set for 400,000 visitors.
The Westfield centres in West and East London will see 250,000 and 130,000.
Birmingham’s Bullring (130,000) and Manchester’s Trafford Centre and Sheffield’s Meadowhall (100,000 each) will also be busy. Experts suggest £2.5billion will be spent in stores today, while another £1.4billion will go online as Omicron fears keep some shoppers indoors.
Two in five Brits started online shopping yesterday, with most logging on just as lunch was cooking.
Some were seeking gifts they did not get — or went online to get away from their partner. And super-keen 16 to 24-year-olds started browsing from 8.56am.
Research by banking firm Trustly shows 40 per cent of Brits will ask for a refund between Christmas and New Year. Six per cent will be due to a break-up.
