TRADERS in Bradford say they are gearing up for another bumper Christmas, despite a survey saying people in Yorkshire are expecting to spend less than the average Brit.

The Broadway shopping centre’s general manager Ian Ward said: “The Broadway is already busy with Christmas shoppers, and the excitement is showing no sign of slowing down.

“Our retailers have pulled out all the stops for Christmas so we’re not surprised that it’s been busy.

“With so many new retailers now open compared to this time last year, this year could be Bradford’s best ever year for Christmas shopping.”

Catherine Riley, manager at Kirkgate Shopping Centre, said: “Historically, the Christmas shopping period has always been one of our busiest times, with this year showing no signs of slowing down.

“We often get customer comments about returning to Kirkgate Shopping as it feels magical at Christmas with the free grotto and the warm customer experience draws them in over shopping online.”

She said they were also once again running their popular Secret Santa initiative, which allowed people to buy a present for a stranger in need.

Val Summerscales, secretary of Bradford District Chamber of Trade, said while member businesses had not yet told her how the Christmas trade was going, it was always a busy time.

She said: “We fully expect Bradford to be on a par with the national trend of Christmas shopping.”

She said such surveys also did not take into account people’s spending before Christmas or in the January sales.

Accountancy firm PwC said people in the region were planning to spend an average of £269 on gifts, lower than the national average festive spend of £280.

Most people said Brexit would have no impact on how much they would spend this Christmas.

And according to the survey, while 46 per cent of money spent would be online, 50 per cent would be spent in-store.

Retail specialist for Yorkshire and the North East, Dan Stott, said: “The results of our survey bring good news for our local high streets this Christmas - despite the ongoing uncertainty caused by Brexit, price pressures driven by exchange rates and underlying commodity prices have not filtered through to consumers yet with more than three quarters of shoppers saying it will have no impact on their Christmas spending.”