Almost a third of all spending on Mega Monday took place online, according to new figures.
The first Monday in December, which this year fell on December 2, has long been regarded as the day on which pre-Christmas online shopping peaks – this year for pre-Christmas online shopping. But this year ecommerce took its highest share yet of spending, according to Barclaycard’s analysis.
Figures from the credit card company showed consumer spending up by 2.8% this year, compared to the same time last year. On Mega Monday, spending rose by 4.3%, year-on-year, while online spending rose by 9.7% and accounted for 29.5% of the total spent.
Categories that benefitted most from online spending included family clothing, up by 26%, according to Barclaycard’s figures, and electronics (+20.4%).
“This year’s Christmas shopping has got off to a good start with spending since the beginning of November up +2.8% year-on-year,” said Chris Wood, managing director, Barclaycard, “as consumers go shopping with a bit more confidence than they did last year.
“We continue to see shoppers practice fiscal responsibility and keep up their search for value by shifting more of their shopping online and waiting for discount days such as Black Friday and Mega Monday. Spending online on Mega Monday was up +9.7%, reaching nearly 30% of all spending for the very first time.
“The search for value is a pursuit that is paying off – we’ve seen average spend per transaction consistently come down, with shoppers now paying 5.4% less per transaction than they did three years ago.”
Focusing on debit cards, Barclays now suggest that £47bn will be spent this Christmas in total. Shoppers, it says, will spend £31.9bn, and withdraw £14.9bn cash from ATMs.
Barclays predicts that today will be the biggest day for ATM cash withdrawals on the high street, as more than £1bn is taken out ahead of weekend shopping and nights out. Some 15m UK adults – 31% of the nation’s over 18s, plan to go Christmas shopping tomorrow, with men (33%) more likely to be shopping than women (30%).
