Xmas shoppers making merry in cyberspace

So much for speakers blaring out decades' old Christmas hits and shop windows groaning under truck-loads of fake snow, cyberspace is fast replacing the high street as the place of choice to net Xmas gifts.

Just nine per cent of the 169 respondents to a silicon.com reader poll said they won't be doing any of their Christmas shopping online this year, meaning the vast majority plan to make some online purchases. And a significant proportion (18 per cent) said they will do all their shopping online - not something that will bring festive cheer to bricks-and-mortar retailers.

The largest percentage group - almost a third (32 per cent) - of readers said they will do three-quarters of their shopping online, while 20 per cent plan to log on for half their gift buying needs. A further 21 per cent said they will do a quarter of their shopping online.

No queues, less stress and a greater choice of goods are all making the web a more attractive place to shop - while cheaper broadband and increasingly slick ecommerce sites have reduced the cost and hassle of click-based shopping.

A recent forecast by market research company Forrester, predicted more than 70 per cent of UK web users will shop online, each spending an average of more than €700 during the holiday shopping season.

Forrester said the UK leads Europe when it comes to opting to go online for Christmas shopping.