UK shoppers are using a range of physical and online shopping channels to shop on their own terms this Christmas, says a new report.
The research, conducted by retail analyst Conlumino and O2, found that more than a third of shoppers are planning on using click and collect this year – up 12 per cent year-on-year.
Neil Saunders, Managing Director at Conlumino said technology is enabling customers to cut out online delivery times and store opening times restrictions.
“Unless retailers keep pace with rapidly evolving consumer habits, they run the risk of being left behind,” he said.
Conlumino also claim that today‘s shopping frenzy – which is motivated by people recently being paid, a close proximity to Christmas and sizeable discounts – will be followed by another flurry on Monday 16 December dubbed ‘Cyber Monday mark II.‘
“Cyber Monday remains important but it is not what it used to be,” Saunders added.
“With new services, like click and collect, consumers are now able to shop for Christmas gifts even later online.”
A online consumer shopping splurge of more than half a billion pounds for the first time ever is expected today, according to payments firm SagePay. Main reasons for shopping online rather than in-store include uncertainty over in-stock availability in-store, travel costs into town and stress of the Christmas rush.
John Lewis more than doubled its previous record last week as the ‘Black Friday‘ effect took hold. The department store sold £147m worth of stock and saw a 35.7 per cent increase of online trade on the year. The Electronics (inc gaming) category is expected to be the big winner today; driven by a sales surge of the Xbox and PS4.
Mark Lewis, online director, John Lewis commented: “We are seeing a marked change from previous years‘ when the first Monday in December has traditionally seen the highest online traffic, to more frequent peaks of demand during the festive season.”
