Bumper shopping day on Saturday

THIS Saturday is predicted to be the busiest shopping day of the year.

A study by the Centre for Retail Research, for the price comparison site kelkoo.fr, shows that 14.4 million French residents will be doing their shopping that day, spending about €1.4 billion, or almost €100 each.

It says shopkeepers can expect Christmas sales to be up on last year, to €63.6 billion in total compared to €62.5bn last year. Households are expected to spend on average €521 for Christmas purchases - €405 in the shops, €116 on the internet.

Fevad, a body representing the e-commerce sector, predicts that this week, and notably today, will see a peak in internet buying, with a million people expected to make purchases today on www.fnac.com, cdiscount.com, amazon.fr or pixmania.com

As for eBay.fr it reached a peak last Sunday at 1.2 million sales. A spokeswoman said many people used it to find items their shops had run out of, with the most sought-after items this year being Beyblade tops, Barbie mobile homes and Playmobil toys.