Online spending is due to overtake physical store sales for the first time ever this Christmas rising to a “record-breaking” £39.17 billion.
UK shoppers are expected to spend around £78 billion on Christmas presents and food this year as growing financial uncertainty means sales will be “roughly the same as last year”.
However, according to research from ParcelHero, a far larger portion of the UK’s budget will be spent online over this year’s “Covid Christmas”.
“Last Christmas, we spent £25.43 billion online and £53.15 billion in stores,” ParcelHero’s head of consumer research David Jinks said.
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“This year, our research shows the situation will be reversed and we’ll spend more online than offline in the first truly digital Christmas.”
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported online sales growth of 53 per cent throughout September, which ParcelHero predicts will grow to 55 per cent in October meaning “online shopping will rise to a record-breaking £39.41 billion”.
“We don’t think it’s likely we’ll see a massively increased overall spend this Christmas, as people are concerned for their jobs because of the impact of Covid and Brexit, which looms just seven days after Christmas,” Jinks continued.
“So, assuming Brits spend roughly the same as last year, that means in-store shopping will correspondingly drop considerably to £39.17 billion.”
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