CHRISTMAS shopping is getting into full swing and it’s a time when the nation divides into different shopper speeds.

A survey by MasterCard showed slow walking as a grievance for 84 percent of shoppers and I’m with the majority here. There is nothing more annoying than having people slowing to almost a stop in front of you as you want to get your shopping done as quickly as possible.

Apart from people with mobility problems who have a genuine reason for being slow, there are many who plainly amble through life. Nothing will hurry them. They have a human right to take their time and they’re going to.

Never mind that other people are piling up behind them, that they are blocking aisles and pavements when they could step to one side and wave people through like golf course etiquette.

But that’s just me. I have a Personal Best time for doing regular shopping trips and whizz up and down the supermarket as though it’s closing in five minutes.

As well as revealing that walking speeds decrease by 21percent over the Christmas period, though, the same survey categorised shoppers into four archetypes.

There are the Skaters who “elegantly manoeuvre through a crowd” enabling them to politely avoid others. Dodgers (51 percent) dart between slow walkers, continually changing paths. Bulldozers actively push through crowds and Tutters simply grumble loudly.

At least shopping centres are recognising the problem and creating special fast lanes for the speedy. Meadowhall at Sheffield introduced theirs in 2014. And Lakeside Centre in Essex has now introduced its own fast lane for shoppers in a hurry. Now I know that many people love taking their time shopping, surveying properly what the shops have to offer. I understand the pleasure in not having to rush and being able to savour retail wares.

It’s not about that, though. Like driving, it’s about being aware of others around you and making allowances – not ignoring everyone and doing your own thing.

I do sometimes look at people who walk painfully slowly from choice – or leave their supermarket trollies in the middle of an aisle – and wish they’d consider other people. So, please, when you are out shopping now, can you just get a move on – or step aside for a woman with a mission.