'A trickle rather than a flood' as crowds stay away from city centre for Boxing Day sales

Shoppers braving the city centre for the Boxing Day sales have found themselves feeling a little deflated. Far from chaotic scenes of shoppers scrambling for deals, when we visited the Arndale on Boxing Day it was not especially busy, especially not for Boxing Day.

Just two shops in the centre saw people queuing outside prior to opening, with Boots having a queue snaking around Market Street, and Lush having customers waiting outside. But it was only Lush which managed to maintain a queue outside after its doors opened.

Things got off to a subdued start in the early hours of Boxing Day morning, with just a handful of people waiting for the shopping centre to open. But even as the sun slowly rose shoppers were still proving elusive, appearing very much in a trickle rather than a flood.

It comes as Brits are predicted to splash just over £3.7 billion in the Boxing Day sales, but with online sales increasing the high street is predicted to make up a lower proportion of that total. The Arndale saw just two queues, with even larger department stores in town such as Selfridges not seeing big queues, in contrast to scenes at the Trafford Centre.

As for shoppers themselves, some were left disappointed by the sales. Shopper Siobhan O'Driscoll told the Manchester Evening News about a lack of bargains, saying: "There's hardly any. Black Friday sales were better than Boxing Day sales, one hundred percent."

"We're feeling disappointed and underwhelmed. I feel rich because I haven't spent any money!"

Sinead O'Driscoll was similarly disillusioned by the morning's shopping, telling the M.E.N.: "Woke up at six o'clock. Livid. I hope the January sales are better."

But other shoppers fared a little better, with James Ezard telling the