Insight: shoppers start spending online as early as 8am on Christmas Day
New data has suggested that many people across the UK hide away from their families from as early as 8am on Christmas Day to get online and make purchases.
The data from Worldpay taken from 2015 shows that transactions start early and build throughout the day before peaking at 9pm.
Online retailers saw a flurry in spending in the run-up to Christmas. Overall online sales peaked on 22 December with sales climbing 45% higher than the average for the festive period.
Last year’s Christmas Day also saw the highest volume of digital content subscriptions, suggesting that many people are glued to their laptop and tablets for entertainment instead of watching Christmas staples like Dr Who and Strictly. At £32 on average, spending on subscriptions was, however, lower than the days surrounding Christmas.
Meanwhile, videogames saw nearly 300,000 downloads made on Christmas Day alone, nearly four times that of an average day. Gaming downloads began to surge at 9am as children opened up their new consoles following the morning present rush and quickly got gaming. Downloads peaked at 12pm before trailing off as people sat down to Christmas lunch.
Maria Prados, VP of global retail and global ecommerce at Worldpay, said: “The Christmas period is of course the biggest time for retailers, but the data suggests that the ease of shopping from home has made Christmas Day itself an extension of holiday spending. From very last minute gifts to getting a head start on the sales, the figures show that retailers must be prepared every day of the year.
“The increase in online subscriptions also shows a change in Christmas tradition. Where once families would gather round the screen to hear the Queen’s speech or find out who killed Lucy, now they can binge watch the latest Scandi-drama on demand. Christmas Day is a great indicator to see how retailing and the way we consume has changed as technology evolves.”
