Stressed shoppers can take a massage to help them through the winter sales where bargains include a watch, with £230,000 knocked off the price.

The Piaget diamond and emerald watch is half-price and the star bargain of the Harrods sale, in London.

A store spokesman said: "The good news is the watch is reduced by £230,000. The bad news is it normally sells for £460,000.

The Centre for Economic Business Research has estimated that up to £6.7bn could be spent in the non-food sector in the January sales, which is a 9% increase on last year.

Huge crowds but also huge bargains

In London's Oxford Street thousands of shoppers are battling for cut-price goods.

Selfridges has laid on free massage treatment and incense for hassled shoppers at the store.

The store's retail manager, David Elliot, said: "After Christmas, with all the turkey and booze, people are in need of rejuvenation.

"They can shop here for 12 hours and then get a free massage. It is a new idea to make a change from the normal sales. We thought it was something different."

Customers are being offered treatments ranging from back and foot massage to full-body mud treatments.

Staff also had incense for customers in a bid to calm frayed nerves amid hours of shopping.

Bargains at Selfridges included a giant 60in television set reduced from £18,500 to £2,500.

Also for sale was an antique Indian wooden wedding arch reduced from £3,000 to £500 and a Chinese medicine cabinet priced at £1,000 from £10,000.

Selfridges general manager, David Wilkinson, said the store was busier than at the opening of its winter sale last year.

Sales have already begun at Laura Ashley, Warehouse, Dolcis and Ravel, Debenhams, Comet, B&Q, Oasis, Kookai, Joseph, Top Shop, Next, Monsoon, Accessorize, River Island, Sock Shop, Burton, Knickerbox, Marks & Spencer, Habitat and Heals.

The Harrods sale is to be opened by Cher on January 7.
 

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