Shops in West Bromwich celebrate bumper Christmas
Tens of thousands of shoppers will flock to New Square Shopping Centre in West Bromwich for Boxing Day sales, making this month its busiest since opening last year.
Shoppers are expected from 6am as bossed predict a bumper day in sales with stores offering up to 70 per cent reductions to draw people in.
Next will open at 6am, while stores such as Primark and The Entertainer will be open at 8am. Tesco Extra, an anchor store to the development opened last year, will open at 9am.
The centre has enjoyed a successful first year with more than 500,000 visitors so far this month, an increase on 80,000 at the same stage last year.
The centre opened in July last year.
Steve Burr, centre manager, said: "We have had an amazing year, with our first anniversary celebrations in the summer and an amazing Christmas period.
"We would like to thank all our shoppers for their support and look forward to an equally exciting sales period."
Traditionally around 10 million shoppers, or one in five Britons, will spend an average of £46.10 in the Boxing Day sales, each buying 13 items during the January sales.
But retail analyst Springboard said there has been a huge shift in shopping patterns, with growing US-influenced trends such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday diminish the popularity of this year's Boxing Day sales.
Ninder Johal from the Black Country Chamber of Commerce said: "Consumer confidence is definitely on the up with the falling rates of inflation meaning people have more money in their back pockets.
"This is against the backdrop of a growth in GDP which means we can expect a bumper Christmas this year which is fantastic.
"It is interesting because five years ago nobody would have expected that the UK would be leading in terms of economy.
"This positive sentiment means we should see a lot of retail success across the board."
It is not just the huge shopping centres that are celebrating, town centres have also seen an increase in sales and they say they are excited for 2015.
Chairman of Halesowen Chamber of Commerce Wayne Edwards said: "I have been up and down the town speaking to shoppers and customers alike and it is all positive.
"I think more people are realising there is a Halesowen town and are coming here to shop.
"We have been encouraging people to buy locally and I think it is paying off. I am very upbeat about the New Year."
