Online shopping boom expected next week

£13bn will be spent online in the weeks running up to Christmas

The IMRG is predicting that web users will spend some £320m in an online Christmas shopping spree next Monday.

The IMRG, a membership community for the internet retail industry, expects web users to continue the trend of spending online over the festive season because of the money that they can save.

Last week, the organisation announced that Monday 1 December had been the biggest ever online shopping day in terms of volume, and that traffic was 83 per cent higher than at the same time last year.

"Monday is almost always the biggest shopping day of the week, and Mondays in December are usually huge," said James Roper, chief executive at the IMRG.

Research by the organisation has found that 68 per cent of shoppers will be more likely to shop online for Christmas presents this year, and over three-quarters will do more than half of their shopping online. Last year, 56 per cent agreed that this would be the case.

"The internet has become the best place for shoppers looking to make the most out of their squeezed spending resources and find the best prices and products for presents this Christmas. Online has definitely come of age this Christmas," said David Smith, director of operations at the IMRG.

As part of this online behaviour, consumers will use online sites to compare prices against the high street competition. The IMRG said that 86 per cent of shoppers would use the internet in this way before shopping in store.

The IMRG is anticipating that some £13bn will be spent online in the weeks running up to Christmas, a figure that adds up to year-on-year growth of about 15 per cent.