British consumers spent £7.66 billion online in the ten-week run-up to Christmas 2006 – between 16 October and 24 December – approximately 54% more than the £5 billion spent online during the same period in 2005, and more than double the £3.33 billion recorded in the approach to Christmas 2004, the IMRG Index reveals. Online Christmas shopping exceeded all expectations, with sales soaring close to a billion pounds a week during each of the first three weeks in December. Online sales had exceeded £3 billion in a month for the first time in November, as Britain’s 25 million online shoppers reaffirmed their affinity with online Christmas shopping.
E-retail sales worth £3.6 billion were recorded for December, half a billion pounds more than IMRG’s forecast of £3.1 billion. These strong online sales at the end of the year made up for a slightly soft Autumn, resulting in the sales value recorded for the whole of 2006 coming in at £30.2 billion, slightly higher than IMRG’s forecast of £30 billion.
“Consumers just couldn’t get enough of internet shopping at Christmas – it seems to match their mood and aspirations,” commented Jo Tucker, IMRG’s MD, who directs the IMRG Index programme. “Websites struggled to cope with the soaring traffic levels, stocks sold out early, and delivery companies were at full stretch dispatching the 200 million parcels ordered. Sales demand outstripped supply capacity by a significant margin, otherwise sales would have been higher still.”
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After a slow November, due to the unseasonably warm weather, the IMRG Clothing / Footwear / Accessories Index recorded December sales 64% higher than in 2005.