Carphone Warehouse chief Charles Dunstone hinted that the company will take a hit on its margins to maintain market share and preferential deals from suppliers.

Speaking to analysts, Dunstone said: ‘At a time when the economy is like this you absolutely have to keep your momentum going. It keeps traffic going into stores, it keeps the volumes you’re buying with suppliers high and it keeps the pressure on the competition.’

Carphone is expected to discount heavily with its prepay deals and has boasted that it should attract footfall as it is the only retailer to have the Apple iPhone and Google G1 under the same roof. With the addition of Nokia’s Comes With Music handsets, Dunstone said it is the strongest Christmas range the retailer has had.