UK shoppers are expected to spend a total of £9.6 billion on presents in the last week before Christmas.

New research by Sainsbury's Bank reveals that last-minute shoppers are ready to spend £1.9 billion more than the same week last year.

An estimated 1.1 million people will spend more than £1,000 in the seven days before Christmas and 2.88 million people plan to spend between £501 and £1,000, providing high street retailers with a welcome boost.

About 19 per cent of final week purchases will be put on plastic, while less than half will be paid for in cash, according to the poll of more than 1,000 British consumers.

Men are more likely than women to have left festive shopping to the last minute, with the average male predicted to spend £276 in the seven days before Christmas, compared with just £196 by women.

Shoppers in the north-east and Yorkshire and Humberside are expected to spend most in the final week of Christmas spending, while Londoners will spend the least.

UK shopping centres and retail outlets reported a slow start to the pre-Christmas weekend sales, but they have picked up and now appear to be above last year's figures.

Internet retailers have also witnessed a sales boom this year, with two out of five shoppers planning to purchase at least some of their presents online.

On the other hand, Northamptonshire published several interesting facts about Europeans and Online shopping for Christmas this year:

* 20% expected increase in online Christmas shopping

* 56% of Europeans to shop online this Christmas

* 100% increase in number of consumers doing at least half of their shopping online

According to a recent survey by TradeDoubler, a European provider of online marketing and sales solutions, Europeans plan to do almost 20% more of their shopping online this Christmas season, compared to last year. The increase in online shopping is attributed predominantly to convenience and time saved while purchasing on the internet, as well as the competitive online prices and the absence of crowds.