Marina McKeever, Senior Sales Director at VoucherCodes.co.uk, comments on Cyber Monday’s UK sales prediction: “The first Monday of December is traditionally the unofficial start of online Christmas shopping and for the last few years has been the busiest day of the year for the UK's online retailers. Monday 2nd coincides with Cyber Monday, the date for peak online Christmas shopping activity in the US, and we expect the convergence of these two key retail dates to result in a significant increase in activity from UK retailers and a substantial uplift in UK online sales. 

 

“We predict this next Monday's online sales will increase by 16 per cent from 2012 levels, with six million UK shoppers spending £605million on this day alone. The amount of awareness around shopping this weekend is indicative of US retail culture creeping into the UK. Over the last couple of years, big US retailers such as Apple, Amazon and eBay have stated to heavily promote both Cyber Monday and Black Friday (the Friday after Thanksgiving which is traditionally the US’ peak in-store shopping day) to UK consumers. 

 

“In recent years, we have seen a steep increase in the number of UK shoppers making  purchases online. This is really brought home when you compare the projected 2.1 per cent growth of total UK retail sales, with the staggering 15.8 per cent projected growth of online sales this Christmas. Indeed, ecommerce transactions are expected to account for account for more than £14.5bn worth of sales over the festive season.

 

“A fifth of UK shoppers will do the majority of Christmas present shopping online this year (20 per cent) and we can expect to see retailers heavily ramping up their sales promotions to target next Monday’s online shoppers, capitalising on the trend of those turning online to make purchases. 

 

“While Monday 2nd will be the largest day for online sales, the peak day for in-store  shopping will take place on Saturday 21st December - attributed to two sets of shoppers; those who have planned their purchases in advance and are picking up their final gifts and groceries and those last-minute panic buyers. It's worth noting that while UK online shopping continues to soar in popularity, high street purchases still outweigh ecommerce transactions, with in-store transactions expected to account for an overwhelming 80 per cent of Christmas retail sales this year. This reinforces why retailers must look at both online and offline marketing channels holistically to avoid losing revenue at their most important time of year.” 

 

Research conducted by Centre for Retail Research amongst 1,000 UK shoppers and 50 major retailers in October 2013.