Debenhams has added two extra days to its three-day pre-Christmas Sale.

The retailer, which began its Christmas Shopping Spectacular on Wednesday, promising£200 million worth of price cuts and billed originally as a three-day event, said today that it has extended the event due to customer demand. It applies both online and in stores.

Debenhams deputy chief executive Michael Sharp said: “We’ve seen more customers through the door and more and more asking why the offers stopped on Friday night - so we thought we’d say thank you by extending over the weekend.”

He added: “Unlike others ours Sales aren’t flash in the pan. We’ve got a 20-year heritage of promotions of this size.”

On Thursday, Debenhams went head-to-head with Marks & Spencer when the latter announced its first pre-Christmas Sale since 2004.

Sharp added: “Never before has offering superb value for money been so important to ensuring a successful Christmas trading period. Our customers are struggling with inflation on every front, so we want to take action now to help them save money. Through this melee of doom and gloom it’s our job as retailers to lift the spirits of the British public and that’s exactly what our Christmas Spectacular aims to do.”