Updated 6.38pm

Sasko Lazarov / Photocall Ireland Sasko Lazarov / Photocall Ireland / Photocall Ireland

THIS WAS THE scene outside Brown Thomas on Dublin’s Grafton Street this morning before opening time at 9am.

A handful of people queued from 6am to be first to get their hands on loads of discounted goods as the retailer holds its annual post-Christmas sale.

That scene was repeated at shops up and down the busy shopping street, as well as at other retailers across the country as people look to land a bargain.

Retail Ireland said today that a surge in shopping between now and the New Year would be needed to ensure its prediction of the best Christmas for retail in five years comes through.

“With more people at work, disposable income rising and consumers more positive about the future, there was a more positive mood in the run into Christmas this year,” Retail Ireland director Thomas Burke said.

“It is still unclear if this translated into stronger sales. What is clear however is that the traditional post Christmas sales period will be crucial in determining the overall outcome.”

Our reporter Daragh Brophy took to the streets earlier today to talk to some bargain hunters. Read his account here.