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'Cyber Monday' Takes Aim at Christmas on the High Street

Posted on: Tuesday, 6 December 2005, 09:00 CST

By TRYST WILLIAMS Western Mail

Today sees the advent of the most important day in the calendar for Welsh online shoppers as they gear up for Christmas, according to internet retailers.: Online shopping, Christmas 2005: The facts so far:This could be the year when digital music MP3 players, such as Apple's iPod and iPod Nano, and new games consoles, such as Sony's PSP and Microsoft's Xbox 360, dominate the nation's Christmas lists, according to the UK version of retail website Shopping.com. The top five most searched terms on their site so far this month are: 1 iPod; 2 PSP; 3 MP3; 4 Xbox 360; 5 iPod Nano.

The same website reported that its biggest day last year was the first Monday in December - December 6. During that 24-hour period it served more than 2.6m online shoppers.

Of the 25m people who surf online each month, 16.3m visited online shopping sites in December 2004.

It is estimated that about 20% of all televisions, DVD players, computers and other electronic gadgets will be bought online this Christmas.

Among the reasons given for the increase in online shopping is the spread of speedy broadband connections, greater confidence in internet security, and record numbers of Britons becoming fed up with the push and shove of the traditional shopping centre.

According to the online retail industry, internet shopping accounted for 8.6% of all sales in October. In December this is expected to rise to 9% before increasing significantly over the next decade. Retail analysts also believe the amount spent online could double over the next five years.

Source: Western Mail

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