Harry Potter's latest adventure has racked up record-breaking sales, creating the kind of magic retailers wish they could conjure all year round.
An estimated 8.6 million of the 13 million worldwide print run sold in the first 36 hours, but the level of discounting means profitability is likely to be low.
Supermarket group Asda said the fifth book in the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, was its biggest selling book ever and shifted at the rate of 12,000 an hour last weekend.
According to Asda, the book, which went on sale at midnight on June 21, sold two-and-a-half times the amount expected, but despite the big numbers, profit margins were 'wafer thin'.
A Borders spokeswoman said: 'We sold twice as many copies of this book in the first hour of trading than the previous Harry Potter book in the first month.'
The hardback edition, which would normally retail for about£17, has been the subject of a price war among big retailers, with most offering deals.
Safeway priced the book at£9.99, but dispensed discount vouchers of£1.50 to customers, while Woolworths shoppers who spent more than£15 were offered the book for£7.99.
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