230,000 expected to hit Birmingham's shops today

Dec 27 2008 by Alison Dayani, Birmingham Mail

TILLS were ringing across the region as thousands of shoppers went on a spending frenzy and defied the credit crunch.

Stores reported the strongest Boxing Day sales ever with more retailers choosing to open than ever before in the difficult financial climate.

Shoppers got up at the crack of dawn to take advantage of slashed prices – especially at crisis-hit stores like Woolworths and Zavvi, which have gone into administration and were offering huge knockdown prices.

The Bullring saw 200,000 visitors through the day, with 7,000 people bursting through the doors in the first hour of trading.

More than 2,500 shoppers were already queuing with anticipation for Selfridges when the luxury department store opened at 8am, eager to bag themselves a bargain.

While managers at Zavvi stores said there had been a massive rush, saying: “We have never seen a Boxing Day like it”.

Walsall town centre, Merry Hill Shopping Centre, in Brierley Hill, and Touchwood at Solihull, also saw a surge in sales. Tim Walley, general manager of Bullring, which has had a footfall of a million a week this month, said: “Today has been a busy day and this looks set continue as the sales progress.

“Throughout the day around 200,000 people visited Bullring and a further 230,000 are expected today.