US Christmas shopping comes to Britain with gifts sold at loss to kick-start spending

British shoppers are seeing American-style Christmas offers for the first time, in which retailers use loss-making deals to spur spending.

Amazon.co.uk is launching a so-called Black Friday event this year, promising deals including newly-released CDs for £1 and heavy reductions on popular games consoles.

The event runs from Monday to Friday next week, although the offers will only apply to a limited quantity of an item for a short time.

Retailers are nervous and shaky consumer confidence, despite figures showing spending picked up last month.

British Retail Consortium spokesman Richard Dodd said: "This move is a reflection of how tough trading conditions are, even in the run-up to Christmas, and more evidence of how retail competition benefits customers.

"But, over a period, all retailers have to cover their costs - premises, staff, buying in stock and a reasonable return for investors - so there will always be a limit to the depth and duration of discounts."

The American event traditionally takes place on the Friday following Thanksgiving and marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.

Shoppers reportedly spent more than $10 billion (£6.2 billion) on Black Friday alone last year.

Amazon spokesman Brian McBride said: "For many years, shoppers on the other side of the Atlantic have benefited from massive savings offered by retailers around Black Friday, and customers in the UK will now be able to enjoy that same experience."