Retailers predict an online Mega Monday sales record

By CLAIRE SMITH
Published on 21/11/2012 01:49

THE first Monday in December is set to be the busiest online shopping day for Britain’s ­shoppers.

Visa said it expected transactions to increase by 21 per cent on the equivalent day last year.

Analysts predict £320 million will be spent online as shoppers splash out on smartphones, tablets and electronic gadgets for Christmas.

Visa said more than £1 in every £3 in the UK is spent on its cards, making its data a reliable basis for market predictions of consumer spending patterns.

A combination of pay day for most consumers falling on the last Friday of the month and a weekend spent browsing the shops, results in shoppers logging on to buy their gifts online on the subsequent Monday. According to Visa these factors will result in consumers spending £222,222 a minute, making 4,722 transactions every 60 seconds. Dr Steve Perry, commercial director at Visa Europe, said: “On ‘Mega Monday’, people across the UK will go online and use their Visa cards to make 6.8 million transactions, the most in a single day in UK history signalling that consumers are becoming increasingly accustomed to the advantages of shopping online for Christmas. ”

Mega Monday was also being anticipated by John Lewis, Argos and Amazon. John Lewis has led high street retailer in turning itself into a “Click and Collect” outlet – with stores being complemented by online activity.