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Christmas shopping will account for a fifth of online sales

Friday, November 7, 2014 - 10:01 by Graham Miller

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19.3 per cent of all purchases made via safe shopping online throughout Europe this year will occur in the run-up to Christmas, according to a new survey from Adobe.

This concentration of e-commerce activity in the final weeks of the year is even higher in North America, where web sales before the festive season will make up 27 per cent of the annual total.

In the UK, about a quarter of all e-commerce transactions will be carried out from smartphones and tablets, The Drum reports. This is significantly higher than any other European or North American nation, indicating that mobile devices are a major shopping tool for British consumers.

Report spokesperson, Mark Zablan, said that smartphone traffic was up 72 per cent year on year in Europe, which is a much higher leap than the 30 per cent increase in tablet-based browsing. So while larger smart devices may arguably offer a better e-commerce experience, thanks to screen size, this is not stopping consumers from carrying out safe shopping online from their mobiles.

November 25th will be the first day in which the Christmas rush really starts to kick in amongst UK consumers, with £208 million in sales likely to be made over a 24 hour period. This correlates with people realising that the big day is just a month away.

The 1st of December will, in fact, be the festive peak for online shopping, with analysts predicting that Brits will spend £281 over the course of what is now known as Cyber Monday.

The internet gives consumers a world of choice when it comes to shopping, with retailers of all shapes and sizes offering products and services. Just make sure that you place your order in time for December 25th.