The IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index for November has revealed that British shoppers spent a total of £5.3 billion online during the month.
Sales were up by 25% compared to October, and by 11% compared to November 2008, with retailers starting to experience the pre-Christmas surge from the first week in November.
But, despite sales increasing ahead of the festive season, year-on-year growth was the lowest for the month of November in the 10 year history of the Index. This is attributed to shoppers holding out for bargains, rather than reducing their online spend, says IMRG Capgemini.
“Christmas falling on a Friday in 2009 may indicate that shoppers are allowing shorter delivery windows than usual, a sign of increasing confidence in retailers ability to deliver on time,” say the researchers.
“It is encouraging to see continued growth in the e-retail market which is clearly an indication of consumers’ confidence in the online channel,” says Tina Spooner, director of information at IMRG. “With many online retailers offering last order dates for pre-Christmas delivery as late as December 23, with a few promising same day delivery on Christmas Eve, even last minute festive shoppers can avoid the high street crowds this year.”
