UK shoppers are set to spend £3.8 billion in supermarkets - £153 per household - before Christmas in an unprecedented festive boom, according to TNS Worldpanel.
This would mean an increase on the £3.3bn spent in 2005 and £2.7bn in 2004 - and make December 2006 the biggest ever for UK supermarkets.
TNS has predicted that around 40 per cent of the total spend will be made on Thursday and Friday.
Another £2.2bn will be spent on the high street.
Kevin Hawkings, director-general of the British Retail Consortium, said: “These are encouraging predictions for the retail sector. The high street is definitely eager for a boom Christmas.”
TNS research director Edward Garner added: “Retailers must be ready for the big hit we are expecting them to take on Thursday and Friday to ensure there is still enough stock for those shoppers waiting until the end of the week to get their goods in.
“With the biggest Christmas week ever expected this year, they need to make sure they have enough in the warehouses to service both their internet customers and those turning up to the stores.”
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