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Thirteen per cent consider shopping only online this Christmas

Friday, October 21, 2011 - 09:23 by Graham Miller

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Over a tenth of the UK's consumers will be shopping online to carry out all of their Christmas shopping in 2011, according to a survey commissioned by HSBC.

Interestingly, the number of people who will stick to the high street and shun e-commerce sites is almost exactly the same, which means that 87 per cent of people will carry out at least a portion of their shopping on the internet.

Generational divides still define e-commerce trends, with the over 65s choosing to head to the high street, while the under 50s are far more likely to use safe shopping online before donning a coat and braving the winter weather at bricks and mortar outlets.

Consumers aged between 35 and 44 will be the biggest spenders this Christmas, shelling out an average of £605 each, on both presents and food. This amount increases to £852 if you happen to live in the North West.

Seventy-one per cent of female respondents said that they would be using the high street more than the internet for their Christmas shopping. Six per cent have already stocked up on Christmas gifts, while three per cent will be holding out until under seven days before December 25th to buy their presents at the last minute.

A fifth of UK consumers will have to borrow money to pay for the festive season this year, although 67 per cent are going to cover the costs directly from their salary. An unsurprising 13 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds will be pushing into their overdrafts to buy gifts.

Value is a big focus this year, with 38 per cent looking to save money via discount vouchers. In fact 14 per cent said they would be missing some people off their Christmas list to cut corners.