Race begins online for the next big bargain

MoneySupermarket said the peak time for online shopping would have been between 9pm and 10pm yesterday, as festivities began to quieten down.

Of 2,000 people surveyed, 8 per cent said they planned to hit the high street first thing today, 12 per cent said they would be shopping online on Boxing Day, and one in four planned to visit the sales at least once between 27 and 31 December.

However, one in five planned to wait until January before trying to see if they can pick up a bargain.

Simon James, shopping expert at moneysupermarket.com said: “Shoppers who are really keen to get the most out of their sale spends are using the internet to search for the best deals as soon as they become available. Many online retailers are starting their traditional post-Christmas sales on 23 December this year.

“My advice is not to be drawn into headline offers – use a shopping comparison website to make sure you really do get the best deal.”

British Retail Consortium economist, Richard Lim added: “This is more evidence of the growing importance of multichannel retailing with almost one in five consumers planning to make purchases online during the peak days of the post-Christmas sales, almost as many as plan to hit the high street.

“It shows people are combining internet and store shopping to access the best bargains.

“In these austere times, the search for value is key. Whether people ultimately buy in store, online or even on their mobile phones, the internet is an increasingly important source of product and price information and it’s clear clothing and footwear are customers’ biggest targets at the moment.”