New figures from the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) show that Monday 8th December was the biggest online shopping day in 2008. Sales volumes were up 18% as sales values rose 14%, reaching £320m as consumers looked for bargains online. It was not the busiest day for online retail traffic however. According to Hitwise, […]
New figures from the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) show that Monday 8th December was the biggest online shopping day in 2008. Sales volumes were up 18% as sales values rose 14%, reaching £320m as consumers looked for bargains online. It was not the busiest day for online retail traffic however. According to Hitwise, traffic to retail sites accounted for 12.32% of all UK visits – the third highest result for 2008. The IMRG reasons that consumers are using the weekend to search for products before buying them online on Monday.
A number of online retailers broke sales figures on the day. Play.com had their busiest ever day with order volumes up 45% year-on-year. At peak trading time the firm processed over 1000 orders per minute – compared to 700 orders per minute at the same time in 2007. Sales for the day saw over 500,000 units shipped, including 115,000 copies of Batman: The Dark Knight. Firebox.com also had their busiest day ever with a record number of orders placed.
Research carried out earlier this year had found that 68% of shoppers were more likely to buy products online this Christmas with 77% of shoppers planning to purchase half or more of their Christmas shopping online (from 56% in 2007).
IMRG: http://www.imrg.org, 09/12/2008
