The Black Friday sales have begun, but early signs are that UK stores have seen smaller crowds than last year.
UK stores opened their doors early and cut-price deals were put online overnight, with analysts predicting record sales.
Consultants Experian and online retail group IMRG are forecasting online purchases will hit £1.07bn, the first time they have passed £1bn in one day.
Visa Europe said £1.9bn could be spent online and in-store on its cards alone.
Last year's Black Friday saw shoppers fighting over bargains, websites crashing and delivery companies struggling to cope.
Retail analyst Nick Bubb said, "It loo
ks as if Black Friday spending has been more spread out this year and more weighted to online, but every indication is that the combined event will be bigger than last year overall. It is too soon to say whether the retail sector will be any better off in net terms once the dust settles."
Police warning
A spokesman for Tesco said it had been very busy so far with early shoppers behaving well.
The BBC's Ben Thompson, reporting from a Currys store in Brentford, described a similar scene.
The police had warned shops to ensure they had carefully thought out security plans so they could avoid a repeat of last year's trouble.
The discount day originated in the US, where it takes place the day after Thanksgiving and kick-starts the Christmas shopping period.
'Unsustainable'
Ebay is expecting nine million British consumers to log on during the 24-hour period and for 25 items to be sold every second.
Gary Booker of Carphone Dixons said the retailer had brought in 40% more stock to cope with the predicted number of shoppers, but he admitted the cheapest prices that consumers will find in the year will still be on Boxing Day.
Earlier this year, retailer John Lewis warned that UK firms would have to rethink the heavy discounting of Black Friday, but it has decided that it has little option but to compete with other retailers and is offering in-store and online promotions.
