The shops are set to be extremely busy today as 19 million people are expected to leave their shopping till Christmas Eve, it has been claimed.
Research by Sainsbury's Credit Cards has revealed that last-minute buyers will spend £2.14 billion today, with £380.9 million on credit cards.
Donald MacLeod, head of cards at Sainsbury's, commented that the shops were set to be extremely busy today as many people are leaving it to the last minute to do the majority of their shopping.
"Our research would indicate that the overall spend in the Christmas Eve rush is going to be considerably up on last year's," he added.
The study found that one million Brits have left all of their present buying till the night before Christmas and 4.72 million still have about 50 per cent to do.
UK payments association Apacs estimated that UK shoppers would spend a total of £53 billion on Christmas this year.
© Adfero Ltd