It is mid-November and long before the traditional Yuletide rush had set tills jingling, the Christmas crackers are already half price. As Marks & Spencer today throws a one-day sales bonanza, five weeks before Christmas, consumers and analysts are wondering whether or not the tides are turning on the retail giants who stock the wish-list gifts.

The one-day promotion is the first the retailer has held in more than three years and signals a drastic bid to rejuvenate sales.

It will join Debenhams, which is holding a three-day "Christmas Event", which ends tomorrow, with prices cut by 25% on most lines and furniture prices slashed in half. Bhs, Gap, WH Smith and other retailers are also discounting heavily this week.

Despite what looks like a desperate attempt to boost flagging profits, Leigh Sparks, professor of retail studies at Stirling University, said retailers aren't panicking.

"The move by some of the big retailers to stage pre-Christmas sales isn't significant enough to be panic," he said. "Many of them have simply placed orders months in advance of the recent economic problems and have a stock growth because they aren't selling as much ahead of Christmas as usual.

"It is an area of concern rather than a call to panic. For many retailers Christmas is going to come very late or not at all."

For years shoppers have eagerly anticipated the January sales, with the shrewdest spenders holding off until after December.

But as yesterday's three-day Debenhams sale kicked off in Glasgow yesterday, shoppers flocked to the Argyle street store to stock up on gifts.

Jennifer Rogerson, 21, from Glasgow said the store was "rammed" full of shoppers hoping to pick up bargains.

"The place was mobbed," she said. "Alot of people were picking up bits and bobs for Christmas and some of the deals were very good. I picked up some great bargains on two-for-one deals and I was able to get some gifts. Sales like this are what people need when they are finding it hard to scrape by and I've been consciously saving a bit every month because things are a little tighter than usual so I'm pleased to have done so well today."

Liz Cormack, 50, from Glasgow said: "I was surprised to see the crackers on sale before Christmas," she said. "There are lots of people spending money in the sale because no-one has much at the minute and money goes further in the sales."

Ross Clark, 47, said the products on sale weren't the usual selection of sale "junk".

"They aren't trying to get rid of the things people don't want," he said. "There are some good quality bargains for customers, which is what is needed to restore confidence."

As high street retailers take action to attract shoppers in the run up to Christmas, Mr Sparks said consumers may continue to hold back on spending.

"I think shoppers will hold back until the last possible moment," he said. "Unless there is something that is seen as an essential purchase, we are going to see more consumers resisting the urge to spend. This will mean there will be winners and losers this Christmas and retailers are not going to do as well as they have done in previous years."

The battle on the high Street will continue today as Marks & Spencer cuts the price of most products in its stores - except food - by 20% in its "one-day spectacular". As many as 24 Marks & Spencer stores will also trade until midnight on Thursday, so shoppers can make the most of the discounts.

Nick Bubb, retail analyst at Pali International, said the Mark & Spencer sale was an unplanned promotion in response to disappointing October sales.

"It's very counter-productive, because it just makes consumers even more reluctant to pay full price for anything," he said. "Unlike the Debenhams Sale, which was planned months ago, the Marks & Spencer sale is a panic response to a very bad two weeks of trading and will cause a chain reaction across the high street."

Mr Bubb said the drop in sales in the past two weeks for Marks & Spencer could be followed by further losses in profits for the retailer.

A host of retailers are discounting their stock substantially this week, with many choosing to cut prices for customers that go online and print out vouchers, which they then need to take to the till. Clothing retailer Gap is cutting 30% off between Wednesday 19 and Sunday, November 30.

UK economist Victoria Redwood said that in light of current spending patterns, it is no surprise that retailers are hosting sales bonanzas before Christmas.

"They have lost their nerve again," she said. "Once one retailer announces a big promotion all the others follow suit to maintain market share. I don't think the move by Marks & Spencer will prompt a surge on the high street but it may help alleviate some of the poor sales figures to date. However, I think this Christmas will be the worst on record for retailers."

Many retailers are struggling as consumers cut back on spending or turn to discounters amid rising unemployment and falling house prices as the country enters recession.

Figures from the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) survey for October, showed that shoppers have made the biggest cuts on non-food items in eight years.

Sales last month dropped by 1.2% on the same period last year, the biggest decline since 2000.

Richard Dodd of the SRC said these are "tough" times for customers and retailers.

"The pre-Christmas sales blitz is good news for consumers," he said. "Consumers are nervous about spending and we are seeing very little sales growth in non-food sectors including electrics and furniture.

"Consumers are continuing to spend on food and non-food retailers are discounting enormously. It will be a tough Christmas, customers will still be spending, but it won't be the bonanza that we have seen in previous years."

Karinna Nobbs, a lecturer at the division of Fashion, Marketing and Retailing at Glasgow Caledonian University said consumers stand to come out on top if they are shrewd enough.

"Holding sales before Christmas is a clear panic signal being sent by retailers," she said. "Customers know that retailers need to sell their products but they also know that if they wait a bit longer they don't have to pay full price."