TENS of thousands of shoppers are swarming Southampton today to get their hands on the best Boxing Day deals.

Doors opened at 6am for several major retailers with eager customers queuing for hours beforehand.

And many aren’t even venturing out onto the High Street, preferring to take advantage of the sales online from the comfort of their beds or sofas.

Department stores like House of Fraser are offering designer goods at a fraction of their usual price, while both Next and Marks & Spencer have launched discounts of up to 50 per cent on sale items.

Online shoppers are expected to spend £748 million nationwide today, or £519,000 a minute, and make 167 million visits to retail sites - up 29 per cent on last year, according to data firm Experian and online retailing trade association IMRG.

Tesco Direct said it expected online shopping to peak at 11am today, with predicted sales of more than 5,000 televisions and more than 2,000 games consoles, and Asda is predicting more than two million shoppers through its doors.

Last year more than 60,000 shoppers hit Southampton on Boxing Day followed by around 90,000 the following day, with queues starting from as early as 1am.