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BRITAIN’S shoppers are today expected to spend a record £183m online, the biggest sales day yet in this country on the internet.
Last week America staged its own cyber Monday, with takings estimated at £310m as the first day after the Thanksgiving holiday kicked off the Christmas rush.
Today, Britain is expected to reach a more modest but nevertheless significant retail milestone. Even traditional high street stores are hoping to cash in by brightening up their online presence. Many now accept their shops have become little more than “display cabinets” for products that can be bought on the internet.
Experts have calculated that the peak for internet shopping will take place almost three weeks before the busiest day for “bricks and mortar” stores — set to be Saturday, 23 December, with spending of £2.7 billion.
The Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) forecasts that internet sales for tomorrow will reach £183m, 40% higher than last year’s peak of about £131m, on December 12.
During the lunch hour, from 1pm to 2pm, shoppers are expected to rack up sales of £14m, with another spree between 7pm and 9pm, when they will spend more than £22m.
A number of factors have contributed to the expected splurge, as shops resort to discounts and timed sales. Many shoppers will also have received their last pre-Christmas salary by then.
“People now know exactly what their budget is,” said Natasha Burton, a spokeswoman for Footfall, a retail monitoring firm.
According to James Roper, chief executive of IMRG, weekdays tend to be busier than weekends for internet shopping because many people use their computers at work to shop, even though 44% of households have broadband internet at home. Monday tends to be busiest because families discuss their wishes at the weekend and place orders at the start of the week.
Roper predicts the busiest Christmas shopping day will come one week earlier than last year as shoppers worry about receiving their deliveries on time.
Amazon promises Christmas delivery for orders placed by December 18, while Littlewoods guarantees it for orders by December 21. However, there are growing complaints from shoppers about the frustration of returning home to find they have missed the delivery van.
A fleet of 1,000 articulated lorries will ferry tomorrow’s internet orders to depots across Britain, and a further 10,000 vans will then deliver the goods to customers’ homes, according to Home Delivery Network. It delivers goods for 100 retailers.
Experts believe online shopping will continue to grow as Britons opt to avoid crowded shopping centres, with their piped carols, and become more confident about security online.
Peter Dixon, 51, an oil firm executive living in Sevenoaks, Kent, does his shopping online, often during business trips abroad. “When I buy electronic goods online, I feel the description is far more helpful than when an assistant tells me in a shop,” he said. He plans to buy iPods, games consoles and IT equipment for presents this Christmas for his three children.
Many products can be found cheaper online. Among some of this season’s “must have” items, an iPod Nano with four gigabytes of storage is for sale at £129 in Apple’s shops, but can be bought for £120 at Ebuyer.com.
Amazon is selling Jamie Oliver’s latest book, Cook with Jamie, at £13, against a recommended retail price of £26. It expects it to be its biggest-selling book in Britain this Christmas.