Christmas shopping trends
As we come to the close of the business year, we can still hear the last minute Christmas shoppers pounding the pavements of Brunswick Street. I am delighted not to be one of them, I dedicated 2 lunch hours to execute my Christmas list about 3 weeks ago and from the comfort of my ergonomic chair!
Australian reports for Christmas shopping seem few and far between but I have been reading the latest news from the US and UK,
The US reported today that online sales dropped in November by 4%, but the first five days in December, saw online sales grow by 9% from last year.
The US spent a whopping $846 million (AUS $1.27 million) in online shopping on Monday 1st December alone!
Tuesday 2nd, was the second heaviest day in online shopping history, with sales of $823 million. (AUS $1.25 million)
The top 5 buys this year in the US:
- Sport & Fitness, up 35%
• Consumer Electronics, up 24%
• Apparel & Accessories, up 16%
• Toys, up 16%
• Books & Magazines, up 10%
In the UK, experts are predicting that high street stores will be facing their worst sales in 43 years. While lunchtime on December 8th or "Mega Monday" people were spending over GPB 1 million a minute on line. (AUS $2.24 million)
Monday 15th online spending is expected to exceed that as most retailers are still guaranteeing delivery before Christmas
So in these "tough" economic times, it still seems ALOT of money is being thrown at Santa Claus. People are shopping later into the year and with successful fullfillment practices in place, shoppers can hang on for that last minute bargain.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Rachael Milne, Business Development Manager @ Simple Net.
Sources: Internet Retailing, Internet Retailer
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
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