But still lagging last year
Shopper numbers continued to rise for the week ending December 16, increasing 6.4 per cent on the previous week, but were still down 5.3 per cent on the equivalent week last year, according to figures from retail analysts SPSL.

SPSL director of knowledge management Dr Tim Denison said: 'This latest dataset shows that retailers are still doing significantly better than many had predicted, although shopping behaviour this year has been affected by several factors.

'These include greater use of the internet for both browsing and buying, rising interest rates and utility bills. There is also a widening gap between those still feeling well-off and confident and those reining in their spending. This may well explain the fact that there are fewer people entering stores this year than last.'

The study predicts that shopper numbers will be closer to last year's throughout this week, with a significant rush expected over the weekend.

London's West End is preparing for a record day of sales and footfall tomorrow, with the streets most likely to be populated by male shoppers. According to a YouGov survey, a third of men said their main objective with Christmas shopping is to 'get it done as quickly as possible.'

More than 40 million shoppers are expected to have spent£1 billion visiting the West End over the six-week festive period.

New West End Company - the managing body for businesses in the West End - managing director Jace Tyrrell said: 'This is the best Christmas ever for the West End - and we still have Saturday to come, which is expected to be the peak of the festive trading period.'