Web Xmas shopping heads for 10 per cent boost

As the festive period approaches, pundits are lining up to forecast how much money will be spent online buying gifts and making other festive purchases in preparation for Christmas.

The latest is Deloitte that estimates online Christmas sales will increase by 10 per cent this year - a figure in line with predicted growth across the last 12 months. The consultancy puts total online spend this year at £4.7bn, also a 10 per cent rise year on year.

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Although it is still growing, commentators have predicted online shopping is beginning to slow - a recent Capgemini IMRG e-Retail Sales Index report noted web sales grew by 54 per cent in the last quarter of 2007 and just 15 per cent in the corresponding quarter this year.

Deloitte also estimated the average basket size for online shoppers is 15 per cent larger than those of high street shoppers.

According to Deloitte lead retail consulting partner Ian Geddes, research based on the responses of 1,000 shoppers shows online consumers planning to spend an average of £773 this Christmas compared to £665 on the high street.

Shoppers in the North West are most likely to shop online for the holiday, with 22 per cent of respondents in that area planning to do so, compared to only two per cent in Northern Ireland. Men are still more likely than women to do their shopping online.

The survey also found 81 per cent of the 350 retailers surveyed now offer online stores, up from 71 per cent last year and 51 per cent in 2006.

The proportion of transactions coming from online businesses remains small though, with more than half of the retailers saying less than 10 per cent of total sales came from their websites. However, one in five said their online sales made up more than 25 per cent of total revenues.