Boxing Day 2017 looks set to become the biggest shopping day ever according to the predictions of consumer experts.
Shoppers across the UK queued outside a range of stores from midnight in pursuit of Boxing Day bargains.
Experts predict £5 billion will be spent across the country in one day - including £1 billion worth of online purchases.
Consumer appetite for the post-Christmas sales period fell away last year after an extended period of discounting that began well before November's Black Friday.
VoucherCodes and the Centre for Retail Research also predict the Boxing Day sales will attract more than a third of the UK's population, expecting them to spend a record £4.3 billion - a 12 per cent rise on 2016.
Customers caught on video queueing outside Harrods, in Knightsbridge in London, were treated to a champagne reception with butlers and dancers.
A spokesman for Harrods said: "The launch of the Winter Sale is one of the highlights of our year. Customers visit the store not only to make a special sale purchase, but for our launch event – which has become something of a tradition.
"We like to do things a little differently...This year, a troupe of singing butlers serenaded the customers who braved the cold to come and queue at the store...
“The first few hours of our world-famous Winter Sale have been a huge success and we’ve seen one of our biggest crowds to date.
"Customers started queueing from as early as 6am and enjoyed a fantastic performance by the Harrods butlers, as is our tradition."
A recent poll of more than 1,000 shoppers for BBC Radio 4 suggests the Black Friday sales are now more popular than the traditional post-Christmas spending spree.
The majority of shoppers (56 per cent) who took part in the survey think Boxing Day sales have lost their appeal.
The British Retail Consortium, however, said they do not see any trend of a reduction in importance of the Boxing Day sales.