Selfridges has revealed soaring sales in its Christmas and toy departments in the run up to the festive period.

The department store group said sales in its Panto themed Christmas shop, which opened on August 8, have jumped 52% year-on-year, with the average transaction value rising 33%.

Sales in its Toy Shop leapt 45% on its first day of trading - Monday - compared with last year.

In its Christmas shop, Selfridge’s Union Jack bauble sold out within the first week, selling more than 2,000.

Selfridges Christmas Shop Head Buyer Geraldine James said: “Our Christmas shop has become a tourist attraction in itself with tourists buying our Union Jack bauble as a souvenir of their time in London and local customers cheering themselves up with our Panto themed Christmas decorations. With Christmas arriving earlier each year, I can see a time when we’ll offer a capsule Christmas collection throughout the year.”