LONDON, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Britain's post-Christmas shopping was brisk Wednesday as bargain hunters were out in force, lured by discounts of 50 percent to 70 percent.
Foot traffic was up nearly 7 percent compared with the same day in 2005, the FootFall customer counting service reported.
"The steady buildup and the quiet Christmas Eve seem to suggest that consumers were waiting for the post-Christmas sales and that the savvy shopper is now back out shopping with a vengeance," FootFall Marketing Director Natasha Burton told London's The Telegraph.
Retail analyst Richard Ratner said he saw "some really savage discounting" as retailers seek to lure shoppers into redeeming gift cards they received.
Britons spent $2.6 billion on gift cards this shopping season, HSBC bank estimated.
In London, more than 2,000 shoppers gathered at a Selfridges department store before the doors opened, the Telegraph said. In Birmingham, about 27,500 people arrived at a major regional mall in the first hour it was open.
Bargain hunters were picking up items including $59 iPod portable media players and $10 Game Boy handheld game consoles.
