BackDate:02 December 2011
More Than Four in Five Online Shoppers Have Purchased Presents By 1 December
- 32 million people intend to shop online for Christmas presents
- More than four in five online shoppers have already bought presents
- 20 million online shoppers are starting their gift buying earlier this year
- One in five have either completed or almost finished their Christmas shopping
- One in nine 18-24 year olds purchased presents in the 2010 Boxing Day sales
As millions of people start their advent calendar countdown today, new research from Royal Mail has revealed that more than four in five (84 per cent) online shoppers have already made a start on their Christmas Shopping.
The study revealed people are also shopping sooner for gifts online this year. Royal Mail’s research showed that almost 32 million people (65 per cent of the UK adults) intend to shop online this Christmas. Almost two thirds of these online shoppers (63 per cent) say they will be starting their shopping earlier than last year.
The research revealed that nearly ten million people will be buying presents on the internet earlier to be more organised and take some of the stress out of Christmas shopping. A further eight and a half million people are buying online early to help spread the cost, whilst around two million shoppers say they will be shopping early just in case they need to return and reorder the gift if it’s not quite what they wanted.
North West leads the way in wrapping up their Christmas shoppingThe study found that one in five people (19 per cent) in the North West have completed their Christmas shopping already. This is compared to just eight per cent in East Anglia.
Meanwhile, more than four in five people in Scotland say they have made a start by now. However, a third of people in the South West and London (34 per cent and 32 per cent respectively) will wait until December to make their present purchases.
Women the most organisedOn the whole women are most likely to be more organised, with only one in five (20 per cent) leaving it until December to start their seasonal shopping, While over a third of men (35 per cent) will be waiting until then.
18-24s most likely to plan aheadWhether shopping on the high street or online it seems that 18-24 year olds are the most likely to plan ahead, with one in ten saying they bought their first Christmas present in last year’s Boxing Day sales. Nine in ten (89 per cent) will also be ordering their presents online earlier this year. Half of those shopping online earlier said they are doing so to spread the cost of Christmas.
Royal Mail geared up for ChristmasRoyal Mail is investing an additional £15 million in this year’s Christmas operation. For the first time, Royal Mail has opened a dedicated nationwide packet network as part of the additional £15 million investment. Nine packet hubs have been set up to sort a significant proportion of the packets Royal Mail handles before they are distributed around the UK and delivered to the door by postmen and women.
The investment will enable Royal Mail to handle the major packets increase as a result of the continued growth of online shopping as effectively as possible. Extra planes, trains and trucks are also being laid on by Royal Mail to handle the UK’s festive mailbag of around two billion items.
Nick Landon, Royal Mail’s Managing Director for Fulfilment and Parcels, said; “Online shopping continues to grow and people are buying their Christmas presents earlier to take some of the stress out of their Christmas shopping or to spread the cost.
“Christmas is our busiest time of year and we expect to handle a festive mailbag of around two billion items this year. Royal Mail has invested an additional £15 million to increase our scale and improve our flexibility during this important time of year for our customers.”
He added: “As we do every year we’re asking people to help our postmen and women deliver this year’s bumper post bag by buying their gifts online as soon as they can, and to post their cards before latest recommended posting dates.”
The latest recommended posting dates are Tuesday 20th December for First Class items and Saturday 17th December for Second Class post.
Ends
For further information contact:
James Eadie
Head of PR
Royal Mail Group
020 7250 2468
07850 757271
james.r.eadie@royalmail.com