The rapid approach of Christmas is sure to draw an increased amount of people toward computers and the second Monday in December - 'Cyber' or 'Mega' Monday as it has become known - is renowned for being one of the busiest internet shopping days of the year. It has been forecast that for December 2008, £320 million will be spent online, amongst consumers who are attempting to beat the Christmas high street shopping rush.
In fact, it had been predicted that £28 million would be spent within one hour, between 1300-1400 GMT - also known as 'lunch time'. The second major peak in sales is expected to take place during 1800-2100 GMT. What's more, it has been predicted that online Christmas shopping will prove popular for many employees in the workplace in 2008, with at least 5.2 million people making their Christmas purchases from behind the desk.
It is also expected that one in ten online shoppers will have their gifts delivered to their place of work. An increase in working shoppers perhaps has something to do with employers becoming more accommodating with their employees performing Christmas shopping in the workplace. It is seen to be less time consuming compared to an employee having to visit the shops in the high street during their lunch break, which can at times take longer than expected and therefore, take up valuable work time.
IMRG - the internet trade body - have stated that the total Christmas online retail sales in the UK could reach as much as £13.6 billion. In fact, the main e-tailers expected to perform well within retail sales include popular entertainment websites Play.com and Amazon. This is simply due to the fact that electrical goods, music CDs and DVDs often prove cheaper on such sites than in the high street.
The fact that more consumers are taking their time to properly research the marketplace to purchase online at Christmas perhaps comes as no surprise; with the recent economic downturn in mind, cheaper alternatives are now a priority for many shoppers. It's certain that popular large chain retailers, such as Debenhams and M&S for example, know what they are doing when offering 20 percent discounts with purchases made online. Such offers will be more than welcome to customers searching for online bargains in these current financial times.
