IMRG predicts bumper online Christmas sales

Online sales are set to rise over Christmas again

The e-commerce industry is set to bounce back from a relatively poor year in 2009 by raking in £120 million in sales this Christmas Day as over four million UK shoppers go online for bargains, according to industry body the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG).

The IMRG predicted year on year growth in the region of 14 per cent, noting that it had already seen strong sales performances across e-commerce in the run up to Christmas with around £5.2bn expected to be spent online this month.

According to the industry body, many retailers will start their Christmas sales on Christmas Eve, with Boxing Day likely to be the busiest shopping day of the year.

Last year Christmas Day was the seventh busiest online day of the year with Boxing Day the busiest, according to Robin Goad, research director at Experian Hitwise.

“Over the last few years the importance of these two days has been increasing, and we see no reason for it to be any different this Christmas. We have already seen that shoppers are willing to hold out longer for a bargain this year," he added.

"This behaviour is likely to carry through to the post-Christmas period, with people logging on after Christmas lunch to find the best discounts before hitting the high street and shopping malls the following day.”