UK Christmas Day e-sales boom peaked during Queen's Speech

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jan 3, 2019

New data has revealed that Britons spent more money and more time shopping online during Christmas Day last year than they did in 2017, with peak transaction times coinciding with the Queen’s Speech.

It seems UK consumers were multitasking on Christmas Day, adding online browsing and shopping to their festive activities.

According to one of the UK’s biggest e-commerce website providers, EKM, online shoppers racked up an average order value of £60.32 on Christmas Day - nearly 10% more than in 2017.

More than 7,200 click-and-buy sales were recorded, with sales peaking at 10.30 a.m and 3 p.m. Consumers also spent on average up to five minutes on every shopping site, with the average time spent shopping rising to an hour.

EKM founder and chief executive, Antony Chesworth, said: “Online retail is rising in general, so it’s not a big surprise to us that people are shopping on Christmas Day while almost all physical shops are closed.

“Our sellers’ websites are geared up for sales 24/7, 365 days of the year, and with more and more transactions taking place via mobile phones, people are casually browsing while they are doing other things – and yes, perhaps even while they are eating their Christmas dinner or watching the Queen’s speech.”

Rivaling Canadian platform Shopify, EKM has powered over 70,000 online shops worldwide. The business is based in Preston and said its shops generate more than £0.5bn in sales every year.