British shoppers will buy fast – and online – this Christmas, new research suggests. Retailers, it seems, will have just a brief window to catch the attention of the UK’s Christmas buyers.
eBay says the UK is now a nation of ultra-efficient shoppers, with 43% of buyers aiming to finish their present-buying in just six hours. Meanwhile, 37% will visit fewer than five high street stores over the Christmas period. Some 5% will be shopping on the move, spending over mobile phones, the study found.
According to its study, 73% of Britons will chose to buy quickly and online, while 60% will be taking in high street shops along the way. In all, the average spend will be £250.91, on 18 gifts for 10 people, plus £165.53 on decorations, cards and food. Last year, it says, the average shopper spent slightly more – £258.19 on the same number of gifts.
Shoppers will be spending the most on children at £196.31, and the least on parents at £54.27.
Hot on the heels of yesterday’s Cyber Monday – predicted to be a peak of the online buying season and which saw ebuyer.com overwhelmed by the level of traffic to its £1 clearance sale – eBay expects Super Sunday, on December 4, to be this year’s top online shopping day. It says 5.8m shoppers will log onto its site alone that day.
Other predictions expect next Monday to bring a peak to online shopping, while the IMRG has said it believes most spending will happen this week and next week, when a total of £3.72bn will be spent. In all, it believes £7.75bn will change hands online over the course of the five weeks of the December shopping period.
eBay spokesperson Julia Hutton-Potts, said: “The web has made us a nation of smart, savvy shoppers who want to make the whole process of Christmas gifting as simple as possible. The popularity of shopping on smartphones is the latest step in this trend, as we look to pick up items whilst on our daily commute, or relaxing at home.”
