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Christmas Day 'to break online shopping record' as spending soars to £728m
Christmas Day 'to break online shopping record' as spending soars to £728m
(2 days later)
Bargain hunters have been lured away from their TV sets in their millions today as the new festive tradition of online shopping saw a record amount of money spent online. On Boxing Day it is expected to be the high street’s turn to be inundated as retail outlets look to shift winter goods still filling stockrooms because of the unseasonable weather.
Bargain hunters have been lured away from their TV sets in their millions today as the new festive tradition of online shopping saw a record amount of money spent online. On Boxing Day it is expected to be the high street’s turn to be inundated as retail outlets look to shift winter goods still filling stockrooms because of the unseasonable weather.
Record numbers were expected to spend “a significant proportion” of their Christmas Day shopping online, spending an estimated £728m, up 11 per cent on last year’s £658m, according to data firm Experian and online retailing trade association IMRG.
Record numbers were expected to spend “a significant proportion” of their Christmas Day shopping online, spending an estimated £728m, up 11 per cent on last year’s £658m, according to data firm Experian and online retailing trade association IMRG.
Experian spokesman, Nick Jones, said: “We have already witnessed record-breaking spending over the festive period. On Black Friday to Cyber Monday weekend, spending reached a phenomenal £3.3 billion across the four days.
Experian spokesman, Nick Jones, said: “We have already witnessed record-breaking spending over the festive period. On Black Friday to Cyber Monday weekend, spending reached a phenomenal £3.3 billion across the four days.
“On Boxing Day alone a huge £856m is expected to be spent, up 22 per cent on last year. In addition, rightly or wrongly, we’ve seen more people than ever spending a significant proportion of their Christmas Day shopping online.”
“On Boxing Day alone a huge £856m is expected to be spent, up 22 per cent on last year. In addition, rightly or wrongly, we’ve seen more people than ever spending a significant proportion of their Christmas Day shopping online.”
Some of the bigger stores, such as John Lewis, Debenhams and M&S would be offering up to 50 per cent discount on their online stores, analysts suggested.
Some of the bigger stores, such as John Lewis, Debenhams and M&S would be offering up to 50 per cent discount on their online stores, analysts suggested.
A man dressed as Santa Claus water skis alongside reindeer on the Potomac River in Alexandra, Virginia.
A volunteer dressed in a Father Christmas (Santa Claus) outfit distributes gifts to children of asylum-seekers, as they arrive at the Schoenefeld train station near Berlin on December 24, 2015, before being dispatched to various refugee centres in or near the German capital.
Leandro Wendell dos Santos, 14, wearing a Santa Claus costume, plays with kids as he walks along the alley of the Mare slums complex to distribute presents to children in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Leandro is part of a volunteer group of residents of Mare slums complex that distributes donated toys to children of the community.
Winter swimmers (L) look on as a man (R) wearing a Santa Claus hat and beard jumps into a pool carved into thick ice covering the Songhua River, to celebrate the upcoming Christmas, in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, China,
In Japan Christmas is not a national holiday, however it has developed into a celebration of western culture with KFC being the most popular place to eat on December 25th. KFC's around Japan regularly see street-long lines and advanced bookings
Filipinos crowd a store that is popular in selling hams as they do last-minute shopping on Christmas eve in Manila, Philippines. The predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines boasts of having the longest Christmas celebration that starts every last quarter of the year.
A man buys Christmas sweets at a supermarket on the outskirts of Budapest, Hungary. Hungarians could outspend last year's record on seasonal treats and Christmas fondants, giving some premium brands a hard time to keep up with strong demand.
Nigerian pilgrims gather at the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, West Bank. Every year thousands of Christian pilgrims travel to the church that marks the site of the cave in which Jesus is said to have been born.
Christmas lights adorn the Usaquen park in Bogota, Colombia. The blow to Colombiaís holiday tradition is poignant given that El Nino is thought to be a reference to the baby Jesus, a name given to the climatic phenomenon long ago by South Americans who noted that it seemed to arrive around Christmas time.
Bon Bon, a 12-month-old koala, celebrating with Christmas decorations at the Rainforestation Nature Park in Cairns, Australia,
A young Thai student wearing a Santa hat poses for a photograph during a Christmas event at a school in the world heritage city of Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok, Thailand, 24 December 2015. The annual event is one of many held to celebrate the Christmas season in predominantly Buddhist Thailand.
Sri Lankan pedestrians walk past a decorated Christmas tree in Colombo. The leader of Sri Lanka's Catholics urged priests on not to put up Christmas trees in their churches over the festive period, saying they had no religious significance. Sri Lanka is a mainly Buddhist country but around 1.2 million of its overall population of 21 million people are Catholics.
Models wearing Santa Claus costumes wait to attend a special event to promote business in coincide with Christmas at Shinsegae department store in Seoul, South Korea. A lot of South Korean companies take advantage of the Christmas season to promote their business amid weak sales and economic slowdown.
A young Thai student wearing a Santa hat poses for a photograph during a Christmas event at a school in the world heritage city of Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok, Thailand, 24 December 2015. The annual event is one of many held to celebrate the Christmas season in predominantly Buddhist Thailand.
Carved radishes are displayed during the celebration of the "Night of the Radishes" at the Ocototlan de Morelos community in Oaxaca State, Mexico. The Night of the Radishes is an annual carving event two days before christmas that has its origins in the colonial period when radishes were introduced by the Spanish. Farmers began carving radishes into figures as a way to attract customers attention during the Christmas market.
A man dressed as Santa Claus walks on zebra crossing during a Christmas charity event in central Seoul, South Korea
A Greek school's principal, Yani Demircioglu, surrounded by Greek Orthodox children, plays an accordion during a Christmas celebration at the main shopping and pedestrian street of Istiklal in central Istanbul
Reuters
A boy meets Father Christmas at a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur
A fire-breather performs during a street show on Christmas Eve in Baclaran, City of Paranaque
Volunteers take part in a traditional Mexican Christmas celebration known as Posada Mexicana at a migrant shelter in Saltillo, Mexico. Posada Mexicana commemorates the journey of the Holy Family from Galilee to Bethlehem
Italian artist Gaspare di Caro, right, lights up Christ the Redeemer in Rio
Reuters
A view of All Saints Cathedral, decorated ahead of Christmas celebrations, in Allahabad
Firefighter Hector Chacon, centre, dressed as Father Christmas, delivers gifts to impoverished children after descending from a 150-metre bridge, behind
A Father Christmas is painted onto a wall in a Christian neighbourhood in Karachi
3D projections designed by students of the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology are projected onto the facade of the Presidential Palace
A snowman and Christmas tree erected in Red Square
EPA
People crowd around for a view of a 3D Christmas tree erected in a shopping park
EPA
Cleaners dressed in a Father Christmas and a reindeer costume clean the windows of a shopping mall
EPA
A woman prays at the Shanghai International Chapel during a Christmas Eve Mass
Reuters
A Bangladeshi man dressed as Father Christmas entertains children during an event to mark Christmas Day in Dhaka
Shoppers will leave the virtual mall for the real one today, analysts say, with 22 million shoppers expected to spend £3.7bn in the Boxing Day sales – a 6 per cent increase on last year – according to VoucherCodes.co.uk and the Centre for Retail Research.
Shoppers will leave the virtual mall for the real one today, analysts say, with 22 million shoppers expected to spend £3.7bn in the Boxing Day sales – a 6 per cent increase on last year – according to VoucherCodes.co.uk and the Centre for Retail Research.
It predicted that 78 per cent of Boxing Day transactions will take place in bricks and mortar stores.
It predicted that 78 per cent of Boxing Day transactions will take place in bricks and mortar stores.
“Anyone selling coats, jumpers and boots has had a difficult time. There is going to be heavy discounting of those goods after Christmas,” said Andy Lyon, a retail expert at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
“Anyone selling coats, jumpers and boots has had a difficult time. There is going to be heavy discounting of those goods after Christmas,” said Andy Lyon, a retail expert at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
VoucherCodes managing director, Claire Davenport, said: “While pre-Christmas sale dates have soared in popularity over the last couple of years, it seems they are yet to take over our more traditional savings days, with many retailers choosing to go all out on Boxing Day, running deals as early as Christmas Day right through to the start of the new year.
VoucherCodes managing director, Claire Davenport, said: “While pre-Christmas sale dates have soared in popularity over the last couple of years, it seems they are yet to take over our more traditional savings days, with many retailers choosing to go all out on Boxing Day, running deals as early as Christmas Day right through to the start of the new year.
“Judging from our research, it looks as though consumer appetite to snap up deals is here to stay, both on the high street and online.”
“Judging from our research, it looks as though consumer appetite to snap up deals is here to stay, both on the high street and online.”
