The Christmas Day online shopping stampede is expected to pass the £300 million barrier for the first time this year, according to a new forecast.
Thousands of new tablet computers and smartphones will be used to visit online shopping or download sites minutes after they have been unwrapped and taken out of their boxes, experts predict.
Chris Webster of IT consultants Capgemini said: “Christmas Day will see a surge in online sales as new tablets and smartphones are put through their paces and vouchers are cashed in for virtual goods such as movies and music.
“This year we’re as likely to be downloading Queen’s Greatest Hits as watching the Queen’s speech.”
Last year £235.6 million was spent online on what is traditionally the most peaceful day of the year.
But forecasts from online retail group IMRG and business data company firm Experian suggest the figure will hit £307.5 million on Tuesday.
Many retailers, including Amazon, are starting their sales online on Christmas Day rather than Boxing Day to take advantage of the new trend. The John Lewis “clearance” kicks off online at 5pm on Christmas Eve as its stores shut down for the festive break. Buying is expected to start as early as 6am and rise to a peak around noon before dipping as the nation sits down to lunch.
The Christmas Day shopping binge has been growing dramatically since it was first seen about five years ago. It does not mean that more people have to work on Christmas Day as the websites are unmanned and orders will not be despatched until the first working day on the 27th.
A final Christmas shopping frenzy is expected this weekend with hundreds of supermarkets staying open until midnight on Saturday night and reopening at midnight on Christmas Eve. The Government has ignored retailers’ pleas to relax Sunday trading rules, which restrict opening to six hours, as a special pre-Christmas one-off.
