The last weekend before Christmas is almost upon us, and payments processor Worldpay has predicted a £2.6bn boost to retail over the weekend as consumers flock to make their last minute purchases.

High streets are predicted to be 45% busier than usual on a Saturday, and footfall in department stores is expected to increase by 127%. Spend is predicted to reach £17.6bn during the last week running up to Christmas Day, with card spending expected to reach more than £3bn on Friday, December 23.

Worldpay's chief marketing and commercial officer James Frost said, " Christmas is the only time of the year that we convince ourselves it's okay to overspend and our latest data suggests trading in the run-up to Christmas could be up by as much as 7% compared to 2015.

"For retailers this means putting more staff on the shop floor to offer advice, locate items and take payments, alleviating pressure from the tills as customers queue to purchase items."