Supermarket giants Tesco and Asda are gearing up for what they expect to be the busiest day of shopping this year – Wednesday 23 December.
Asda bosses said they expect the shopping rush to peak just after lunchtime on Wednesday, while rival Tesco said around £1 billion will be withdrawn by shoppers at its cash machines over the Christmas period.
More than 740 supermarket stores across the UK will open for 24 hours a day this week – a record high – in a bid to win custom over the busy festive season.
An estimated £4bn was spent by UK consumers over the weekend, suggesting that December trading had picked up after a disappointing November for high street retailers .
Meanwhile research by price comparison site mySupermarket.co.uk has revealed that both Asda and Tesco have the highest number of current special offers, at 6,406 and 5,995 respectively.
However, it also showed that the two supermarkets have increased their prices by an average of 1.9 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively compared to the same period last year.
Overall, 18,553 items have been put on special offer across Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys and Ocado, a rise of 34 per cent from December 2008 and the highest number in at least three years, according to the mySupermarket data.
