Some 60 million euros could be spent in London’s West End alone on Thursday as shops slashed prices for traditional Boxing Day sales. <br /><br /> Would-be shoppers travelled from far away places such as China, Nigeria and Israel for a chance to scoop up some bargains. <br /><br /> Some stores opened at 6am.<br /><br /> “I have never been such an idiot and queued up at this time of the morning before to go shopping, so there’s a first time for everything and this is my loony year,” said one man waiting for the shops to open.<br /><br /> “We want to get stuff for ourselves and our families, so if you come early you have more chance of getting all the nice stuff, than coming later,” explained a woman.<br /><br /> Shops did not wait for December 26 – some began sales online on Christmas Day and are believed to have received 117 million visits to their websites.<br /><br /> “I think the shops are very aware that people have limited budgets now and they want a piece of that budget before anybody else does,” said consumer expert at Moneymagpie.com, Jasmine Birtles.<br /><br /> Those desperate to be one of the first through the doors queued outside through the night of December 25. <br /><br /> The sales are expected to net retailers more than three billion euros.
