Online Christmas Shopping Jumping!

The UK’s adult population will give a major boost to e-commerce sales during Christmas 2009, benefiting the e-tailers who ensure better availability of product, effective search tools and smarter delivery options.

According to the 2009 edition of Logan Tod Online Shopping Index, the focus of e-commerce businesses for Christmas 2009 will be on maintaining average order values, as they will have to face tougher competition at lower price levels.

The IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, released recently, shows that UK shoppers spent over £4.67 billion online in December -- up 14.2% from December 2007. Of the 2,000 consumers surveyed, 37% did more than half of their shopping online, while 59.9% spent more online this Christmas than last year.

Research undertaken by Capgemini, as part of the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, also observed that online sales have been increasing in spite of a fall in the growth of high street, as shoppers are turning to e-tailers to beat credit crunch.

Matthew Tod, CEO at Logan Tod, said: “With 53% of those surveyed intending to increase online purchases for Christams’09, online retailers can look to see a sustained growth level as consumers continue to adopt the habit of online shopping.”

About 70% of UK adults, surveyed as part of the Logan Tod Index, have said that they visited sites where they had good past experience. Availability of product (71%), effective search tools (70%) and smarter delivery options (70%) also topped the priority list of this group.