Millions of shoppers are leaving their Christmas shopping to the last minute with over 19 million people planning to hit the shops on Christmas Eve.

Research by Sainsbury’s Credit Cards indicates that 46% of adults intend to do some of their Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve, spending around £2.14bn. This is equivalent to £89.1m an hour or nearly £1.5m per minute. The bank estimates that around 18% of this will be placed on credit cards.

A staggering 1 million people anticipate that all of their Christmas shopping will be done on Christmas Eve and in total 4.72 million people expect to do 50% or more of their Christmas shopping then. Those in the North East, Yorkshire and Humberside are the most behind with their presents: 18% of their shopping will be done on Christmas Eve. Those in Wales and the South West are the most organised.

Donald MacLeod, head of cards at Sainsbury’s, said: “It looks like the shops are going to be busy on Christmas Eve as a lot of people intend to do a significant part of their shopping then. Our research would indicate that the overall spend in the Christmas Eve rush is going to be considerably up on last year’s.”