The hordes who have been out buying Christmas presents have failed to spend enough to keep retailers happy.

The latest figures from the High Street show that shopping got off to a slow start this time.

And many chains, particularly clothes shops, have responded by starting their sales early - some with discounts of 50%.

They are hoping that will be enough to draw in shoppers over Christmas and the New Year.

But there could yet be a last minute Christmas Eve rush.

According to the financial services company Egg, one in four people will be dashing round the shops buying their final presents.

'Sales are down'

According to market analysts Footfall, the number of people at shopping centres is down more than 7% on last year.

Over �20bn will be spent on debit and credit cards this December Jerry Toher, Egg

David Smyth, Footfall's marketing manager said: "Retailers have been waiting for a last-minute shopping splurge but the Footfall Index figures indicate that their Christmas wish has not come true.

"Fewer people are going shopping and it is likely, as a result, that sales are down."

He said that, so far, the pre-Christmas week in 2002 was the worst for three years.

Department store group Allders seemed to confirm the news this week, warning that sales in the 12 weeks to 19 December were 3% lower than last year.

Substantial savings

The news is not all bad for retailers though, with other analysts predicting plenty of people rushing to the shops for gifts and food.

Sales of jewellery, electrical goods, wine and spirits are all expected to soar before stores close their doors on Tuesday afternoon.

Men are expected to account for much of the day's trade, with a survey from Egg suggesting that one in three has left shopping until the last possible moment.

There is no doubt that retailers are feeling the pinch Tony Craze, Goy Harris Cartwright

Just 15% of women are in a similar position, according to the poll.

Food boost

Food retailers, however, have been exempt from the gloom with supermarkets reporting booming food sales over the festive period.

A spokesman for Tesco told BBC News Online: "We've been busier than ever."

Tesco opened its doors at a minute past midnight at the start of the week, rather than the usual 8am start, in a bid to cope with the flood of festive shoppers in its larger stores.

Tesco opened at midnight to cope with demand

"We were busier at 4am than at 4pm," said Tesco.

The supermarket said it sold just under 2 million turkeys last Christmas but was on course for sales of 2.25 million this year.

Purse strings

Egg expects shoppers to spend about �4.3bn ($6.9bn) on Christmas Eve - or �120,000 a second.

Jerry Toher, managing director of Egg UK, said: "Over �20bn will be spent on debit and credit cards this December."

Analysts think that consumers may be tightening their purse strings as they start to worry about their finances.

Tony Craze from the stockbrokers Goy Harris Cartwright told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme:

"There is no doubt that retailers are feeling the pinch."

For much of the year people have spent heavily - encouraged by rising incomes and soaring house prices.

But the recent suggestions of falling confidence could spell bad news for retailers, who receive up to 40% of their income between December and January.

The consumer confidence report published by research group Martin Hamblin Gfk, on behalf of the European Union, suggested an unexpected slump in sentiment in December.

Gfk blamed the growing threat of an attack on Iraq and fears of a housing crash for the sharp fall. It said 45% of those surveyed expected the economic situation to get worse in the next 12 months.