Brits Shop Online to Battle Winter Blues

Friday, February 1, 2019 - 12:45 by Graham Miller

The retail experience is often described as therapeutic by shopping fans, but now a study from Empathy Broker seems to have proved this definitively.

Analysts found that the 21st of January, a day which is often cited as being the low ebb for the mental health of the northern hemisphere each year, was far more popular amongst consumers looking to carry out safe shopping online.

There was a 32 per cent uptick in e-commerce related searches on this dreary Monday than during the same period in the previous year, which in turn had been a much more active day for online shopping.

Although the concept of ‘Blue Monday’ has largely been debunked as a myth by serious academic researchers, the idea that the colder months are more depressing due to the adverse weather conditions is certainly one that seems to hold water. That consumers would ease their winter blues with a few purchases to pep them up makes sense.

The report also looked into the points in the week that are most often associated with spikes in e-commerce activity. Sunday evening is the biggest draw for online shopping, with higher rates of searches for fashion items in particular seen during this period.

Mondays take second place in the e-commerce popularity rankings, meaning that the start of every working week is a good time for retailers to boost conversions and help promotions to gain traction.

Retailers will need all the assistance they can get over the coming months, with the usual seasonal downturn in retail activity compounded by the fact that the UK’s exit from the European Union is still leaving a lot of questions unanswered. Caution amongst consumers leads to lower spending, and even the lure of retail as a mood improver might not be enough to swing the industry towards growth.