Express & Star comment: High street stores banking on bumper Boxing Day profits

There is no doubt that these are testing times, and retailers have been forced to look for increasingly inventive methods to attract customers.

Luring shoppers away from the simplicity and comfort of internet shopping has proved to be no easy task.

But there are signs of hope on the horizon in the Black Country and Staffordshire.

Wolverhampton's newly revamped Mander Centre is a case in point, with the giant Debenhams store seeing customers flooding through its doors from the moment it opened in October.

It just goes to prove that there is still a place in modern society for well run shops.

There are plenty of people who still enjoy the excitement of a day visiting the region's shopping hotspots.

This is true for people of all ages, many of whom have grown tired of buying items from the comfort of their armchairs.

The apparent ease of internet shopping leads to compulsive buying, with people ending up spending money they do not have, often on items they do not really need.

It is little surprise that so many items bought online are swiftly sent back.

Rather than making things easier, internet shopping can easily become something of a rigmarole.

Now the sales period is upon us, many of our high street stores will be banking on some bumper profits to turn a mediocre year into a good one.

It is the perfect time for bargain hunting.

In one sense, we have a duty to protect the shopping areas of our towns and cities.

People often complain about the number of empty shops in Wolverhampton and Walsall, but the situation will not improve unless we give stores our backing.

This means getting our hands in our pockets and shopping local.

And that applies to small, independent shops every bit as much as it does to the major retailers.

Hopefully, this year our shops will enjoy a bumper sales period, sparking a much-needed confidence boost as retailers head into 2018.

Good luck to everyone on the hunt for bargains.