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The Guardian - UK

Business

Sarah Butler

Retailers hope ‘panic weekend’ will bring Christmas cheer to UK sales

United Kingdom Tesco Currys Lidl Morrisons

Christmas decorations above people in high street at night — Crowds in Regent Street, London, earlier this month when it was closed to traffic to attract Christmas shoppers. Photograph: Martin Pope/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

Retailers are hoping for a last-minute dash for the shops this weekend after a lacklustre run-up to Christmas, with UK households forecast to spend £3.4bn, up more than 12% on the same weekend in 2024.

Almost 50m shopping trips will be made by last-minute Father Christmases over the weekend, according to research by analysts GlobalData for Vouchercodes.co.uk, the vast majority of which will be to retail destinations including high streets and shopping malls.

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