Report predicts surge of festive E-shoppers

A recent report from IMRG and Capgemini predicts Christmas shoppers in the UK could spend in excess of £13bn online over the next few weeks. Online business appears to be booming despite the constant drip-feed of media credit-crunch gloom. 

The report predicts Christmas spending will reach its peak on the 8th of December from which point festive online spending will start to slow down.  In terms of figures, an estimated £320m is expected to be spent online on that day – with the busiest period falling between 1pm to 2pm when £28 million is expected to be spent in that hour alone. 
Forty two per cent of 8th December online sales will take place outside of traditional shopping hours, either before 9am or after 6pm.

Online sales figures for the 4th quarter 2008 are expected to top £13.16bn – a figure that equates to a spend of £215 for each and every person in the UK.  That’s a healthy 15% rise compared to the same period last year, although year on year growth is down on 2007’s whopping 54% rise.

With Christmas celebrations looming, online sales of beer, wine and spirits are expected to top £233 million during the 4th quarter 2008. Trends show a steady rise in online sales throughout November and peaking during the first week of December, when £24 million worth of alcohol will be bought via the internet.

These predictions are calculated based on data taken from 60 UK online retail sites. 

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