Shoppers unimpressed with opening of Christmas store

Christmas has come five months early to the central London retailer, with the temperature outside at a balmy 22C (71.6F) and 147 shopping days still left to buy all the festive essentials.

Selfridges said it was the first department store in the world to launch its Christmas shop, and this year the theme is "With Love From..." - a tribute to London, Manchester and Birmingham.

But not everyone is feeling the festive spirit, with one shopper outside the store on Oxford Street saying: "If you're selling it all year it doesn't feel magical, and I feel that Christmas is magical."

Another shopper said: "For me, I think it's crazy. I usually do my bits last minute, so for me it's delusional.

"But then I have a best friend who absolutely loves Christmas so it'd be just up her street. I think it depends on the type of person.

"But for me I wouldn't go in and buy Christmas decorations now. I'd buy them nearer the time so then you can get the spirit then.

"Otherwise it's far too early. It's summery. It's not winter. You don't need it."

Another shopper agreed and said: "Actually I think it's crazy, because it's too early. It's summer time."

As the sun shone down on the famous shopping street, another shopper commented on the weather, saying: "It just seems really early. Ridiculous ... the sun's out."

But one shopper said "addressing the public early is good idea" for such a big store.

Selfridges launches its Christmas shop in two phases, with phase two set to launch on September 4.

The first phase showcases a selection of products dedicated to London, driven by the demand from customers, especially from overseas, for London-inspired Christmas decorations and stocking fillers.

The store will also launch a capsule collection of Christmas food on Friday.

It usually launches its Christmas food selection in the latter half of October, which means that products such as Christmas pudding will be available for five months this year rather than just 10 weeks.

When the Christmas shop fully opens on September 4, it will include more than 130,000 products across the whole Christmas decoration range from baubles to Christmas cards - more than a 10% increase on 2016.

Geraldine James, Christmas home and decorations buyer at Selfridges, said: "We've been opening the doors to our Christmas Shop during the summer for years now and have become a real destination for fans of Christmas and festive decorations within and outside the UK. Some customers return to us year after year, excited at the prospect of discovering the new ranges and adding to their collections."

Eleanor Gregory from Selfridges said a lot of international customers love to bring home souvenirs, while lots of domestic customers love to "buy Christmas a bit early", adding: "But any customers of course that aren't really into Christmas this early can always ignore it."