Shopping online this Christmas

Christmas is a time to splurge. We tend to spend too much, eat too much and drink too much but with doom and gloom in the economy, could this Christmas be a time of thriftiness and restraint? According to several different surveys, the answer is a resounding ‘no’.

Verdict Research believes consumers will spend £85.2 billion this festive season, which is 1.9% or £1.6 billion more than last year. But when it comes to exciting growth figures, online shopping steals the limelight.

According to one survey by the Centre for Retail Research, online Christmas sales are expected to top £11.5 billion, a 28.8% or £2.6 billion rise on last year. And, online Christmas spending is expected to account for 17% of all Christmas sales. 

These figures seem to be backed up by research from MoneyDashboard. It surveyed a group of UK consumers and found 46.6% intend to do most of their shopping online this Christmas and 31.9% plan to do more of their shopping online this year compared to 2009.    

So why are more people switching to online shopping this year? Is it because more people use the internet? Or is it because many people believe their chances of finding a bargain are far higher online than in store?

Whilst a rise in internet usage may have something to do with the increase, the biggest factor is because although we like to spend at Christmas, we need to make our money go further this year. Last year, everyone held back as we were still in the midst of recession, but this year, the pressure is on to spend again, even though we still don’t have much money to splurge with and we are all a little worried as to what 2011 holds.

So the internet, with its huge variety, access to both domestic and international retailers and bargain auction sites such as eBay, means we have not only more choice, but more choice at lower prices.

It is also more convenient. On Saturday 27^th November, one million people descended on Oxford Street and Regent Street in London to kick off their Christmas shopping. Although these streets are large and packed full of shops, that is a lot of people in one space, enough to make you feel like you’re in a sardine can. Shop online and you don’t need to pay parking costs, traipse around shops for hours trying to find the right gifts and you won’t have to deal with 50-people-long checkout queues.

Check out 24 Studio for a wide range of unique and special Christmas gifts that are both affordable and hassle free.