All shopped out! Sales slump as city centres turn to 'ghost towns'

HIGH streets were much quieter than usual yesterday as many shoppers decided to do their Boxing Day bargain-hunting from home.

- Emily Braeger

Few queues were seen on London's Oxford Street and at the Trafford Centre in Manchester. Meanwhile the centres of Leicester and Nottingham were described as ghost towns.

However, huge lines waited for Newcastle's Primark to open.

This year many retailers, including Marks & Spencer, John Lewis and Next, decided to stay closed to give staff an extra day off, which will have contributed to the low footfall.

But a change in shopping habits has meant many now prefer to shop online. Barclays bank said more than three quarters will do most of their festive sale shopping on the Internet.

Yet, with sales figures for Boxing Day set to be released this morning, experts still predict it could be the biggest Boxing Day in five years.