Member Article

Sales get underway

Some shops opened their doors as early as 6am on Boxing Day morning as the January sales began.

John Lewis reported site visits up 24% on Christmas Day, and a sales increase of 40% as a higher proportion of shoppers used tablet computers.

Information services firm Experian estimated that £472.5m would be spent online on the 26th, although the number of shoppers on high streets and shopping centres suggest the distribution might be more even.

The research suggested Boxing Day would be the busiest online shopping day with 126 million online visits to retailers.

This represents a 31% increase on figures from the same time last year.It is estimated that an extra 32 million hours will be spent online shopping in December.

Andrew McClelland, Managing Director at IMRG, commented: “The post-Christmas sales period actually starts on Christmas Eve online and, judging by these forecasts, it certainly finds a willing audience.

“Accessing retailer websites through always-on devices such as smartphones and tablets provides consumers with an easy way to check about returning a gift, or download digital content directly onto that device. Indeed, retailers have been telling us that tablet devices are among the biggest sellers this year.

“As consumers encounter a range of discounts and offers already available in the sales on these sites, it is not surprising that consumers will spend over £300 million even on Christmas Day itself this year; online, the Christmas shopping never really stops.”

John Lewis boss Andy Street said: “To be announcing another record-breaking pre-Christmas week along with such a fantastic start to our online Clearance is marvellous news, and is very encouraging ahead of our shops opening their doors tomorrow morning.

“Many of our customers clearly chose to shop right up until the last minute this year and it’s pleasing that we were able to provide them with the gifts they were looking for. I hope that we are equally able to meet their sale shopping needs as the focus shifts from present buying to bargain hunting. We have some excellent products on offer, many with up to 50 per cent off.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .