Friday December 27 saw a record boom for online retailers, who had their busiest day in history as consumers bagged bargains from the comfort of their own homes.
A total of £590 million was reaped by etailers from British consumers, a 20 per cent increase on last year according to internet retailing association IMRG.
As so often happens these days, however, the gain of online stores was reflected by a loss for bricks and mortar retailers. Around 13.5 million people braved the bad weather to go out shopping, but total spending was down from £2.97 billion to £2.2 billion. The rest turned to mobile phones and tablets to find the best bargains.
Fortunes were good for most retailers on Boxing Day, however, when total spending was up 10 per cent – setting a new record spend of £540 million for that day – and 50 per cent up on Christmas Day. Year on year spending rose by 20 per cent and much of the growth came via mobiles and tablets. Experian Marketing Services said that one in every 88 internet searches made on Christmas day included the term ‘sale’ or ‘sales’.
Retail Parks were winners in the pre-Christmas shopping stakes with a 12 per cent year-on-year rise in footfall, compared with a 1 per cent overall decline for retailers during the same period.
