Major retailers launch online sales early

A series of major retailers have launched their sales early by reducing prices both in their high street stores and on their websites.

Brands such as Halfords, Comet and John Lewis are launching their sales today (December 24th) and internet purchases are expected to increase by nearly 20 per cent on last year's figures.

More than four million Britons are forecast to take advantage of online sales and as much as £120 million could be spent on the internet through the course of Christmas Day, while figures from IMRG suggest overall December sales may reach £5.2 billion.

Brian McBride, managing director of Amazon UK, said: "One of the great things about the advent of internet shopping is that you now have stores that are open 24/7, every single day of the year."

The availability of faster broadband connections could allow more people to search the sales quickly, while they could use VoIP solutions to communicate cheaply with their friends.