Retailers reported exceptionally strong business across the country yesterday, the first main day of the post-Christmas sales.
A spokeswoman for Clerys on O'Connell Street in Dublin said there had been a "phenomenal response" to its sale, which began at 9am yesterday.
"There were a couple of dozen people queuing outside from 2am, and there has been a fantastic response all day. We had a very good Christmas, and now there's no stopping them," said Emily Delehanty.
Among the items with the biggest reductions was a retro-style fridge, originally priced at €1,600 but sold yesterday for €100.
In Cork, Marks & Spencer on Patrick Street reported "incredibly good sales", particularly in women's and children's clothes.
General manager Ray O'Callaghan said: "We had about 100 people outside the store when we opened at 9am, and it has got busier as the day has gone on.
"It's reflective of how Christmas was for us. It was very busy all last week, and it's a continuation of that."
Dublin's Brown Thomas had similarly strong sales throughout the day.
Its general manager, Jackie Byrne, said there had been a "really strong increase in sales across all our areas.
"It was one of the strongest Christmases we have had. It's been incredible," she said.
Though it was too early to provide figures, Ms Byrne said she would be "amazed" if sales targets were not exceeded in all departments.
The duty manager at the Liffey Valley shopping centre in Dublin, Dave Ward, said sales were expected to be up by 9 per cent on last year.
"It's very high. There's hardly a space in the car park. The footfall will certainly be up by a couple of thousand on last year's figure," he said.
Mr Ward said total sales for last year had been equalled some two weeks before Christmas this year, and the post-Christmas sales would likely show the trend continuing.
Meanwhile, the Consumers' Association of Ireland warned shoppers against going into debt this week.
Chief executive Dermott Jewell reminded consumers that any money saved from cheap purchases could be redundant because of punishing interest rates.
The chief executive of the Dublin City Business Association, Tom Coffey, said the sales were important to consumers as well as retailers.
"People, for example, who are on very tight mortgages because interest rates have gone up and their disposable spend has shrunk a little bit, the sales are important for those, because they can get items that they want or need at a price," he said.
