UK Christmas shopping sales to rise 14% to £7.75bn

UK shoppers will spend more than £7bn online this Christmas, representing a 14% rise on last year, according to a new study.


The forecast, from UK ecommerce trade body the IMRG, found that almost half of the £7.75bn in sales will be changing hands in the first two weeks of December. Last year, £6.8bn was spent online during the festive period.
The IMRG also predicted that changing consumer behaviour will also help to make 2011 the ‘real’ breakthrough year for mobile commerce.
The online trade body predicts £7.75bn will be spent in the five weeks of the December shopping period, starting from November 28.
This year’s forecast, based on analysis of the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, also suggests that this year retailers will see two continuously busy weeks of Christmas shopping, rather than the two peaks, Cyber and Mega Monday, predicted in previous years.
In all, £3.72bn will be spent over the course of these two weeks. Last year, it says, 24% of the month’s purchases were made in each of the weeks of November 29 and December 6, rather than specifically on the Mondays.
The shift, it says, reflects real changes to consumer behaviour and comes as more people have fast broadband in their homes and no longer need to wait to get to work on Monday to make purchases over a fast connection.
At the same time, it says, shoppers are becoming more expert in moving from channel to channel to find the best deal, whether that’s in a shop or through incentives offered through mobile marketing or social networks.
The big enabler of this, says IMRG, is mobile and the opportunities afforded by smartphones to research and compare products in-store and away from the home. The resulting ‘agile consumers’ can react to disruptions to their shopping journey and buy in the manner that suits them.
David Smith, chief marketing and communications officer at IMRG, said: “The shopping behaviour displayed by the agile consumer reinforces the importance to retailers of offering a multichannel solution. Consumers want choice and continually demonstrate their willingness to switch channels to suit their specific circumstances and secure the best deal for themselves. Anyone focusing too heavily on a single channel is certain to miss out on opportunities for engagement as and when they arise.”
Chris Webster, VP and head of retail at Capgemini, said the figure was a significant one, and in line with the growth seen throughout 2011. “We are still spending, but we’re being selective, and this trend will be very apparent this Christmas,” he said. “Technology is evolving and so is the consumer. Gone are the days when we were limited to shopping just on the high street and were at the mercy of the weather. Shoppers have become very savvy, out of both need and convenience. We’ll hunt down the best bargains online to get the most out of our Christmas budget, but also because we can, easily and conveniently.”
Ulric Jerome, managing director of PIXmania.com, said customer numbers start to increase on the high tech products site from early November, but that shopping seriously begins in December. He said: “We know that our customers are watching their finances and are under real pressure to budget from month to month so the first day of the month is like a green light – customers know what they’ve got to spend and online they go.
“We see demand usually double overnight – from the start of December last year it shot up by 117% – and then continue to build through the month right up to Christmas.”
Source: www.imrg.org