This is the moment of truth for credit-crunch Britain. There are this morning, if forecasts are to be believed, just four economy-saving, cavalry-coming-over-the hill, belated binge-spending days until Christmas. VAT's come down; the shops have slashed their prices and started January sales earlier than ever before. "Half price" is the latest ticket to be glued to goods on the High Street. Many discounts reach 70 per cent. Hundreds of supermarkets are to open around the clock in the next few days. And, with thousands of jobs at stake, shopkeepers are putting all their faith in a last-ditch spending spree this weekend, traditionally the busiest of their year.
At the moment when sales were supposed to reach their peak yesterday, the signs were not looking good. Footfall was down 7 per cent on last year, according to experts at Synovate Retail Performance, and despite brave efforts by retailers to talk up the sales, shop workers said they were shocked at how quiet things were.
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