With only two weeks to go before Christmas, buying presents is a high priority¹ for a lot of people. However, this year not so many people are leaving their homesto browse² aroundthe shops. These days lots of people can do their shoppingin the comfort of their own homewith the help of the internet.

Online shopping is becoming more and more popular for a number of reasons; prices are often lower online, you don’t haveto queue upin busy shops and you can buy almostany product imaginablewith justa few clicks of your mouse.

Computer trends are oftenmale-dominatedbut this year women are expected to do more shopping on the internet than men. It seems women are now more attracted to the convenience of online shopping than they used to be.

Average spending online this Christmas by women will rise to ￡240 (3360 Yuan) compared to the slightly lower average of ￡233 for men, while the average spend per person onthe high streetis only ￡197. 70% of internet users³, male and female⁴, are now buying their Christmas gifts online.

In the past a lot of people werereluctantto shop online. Many were worried about the security⁵ ofentering their card detailson the internet and thereliabilityof the internet but as shopping online has become morewidespread, these worries have begun to disappear. 45% ofinternet usersstill do have security worries but it hasn’t slowed down theever-increasingnumbers of online shoppers.

Onevictimof the online shoppingboomis the UK high street. Christmastradingcan represent up to 60% ofturnoverfor some stores. Many companies are concerned that not enough shoppers are coming through their doors inthe run-upto Christmas. As a result there are lots ofspecial offersin the shops.

Most shops traditionally have sales after Christmas but this year the bargains have come early in an attemptto lureconsumers to spend. Bad news for the high street has become good news for the bank balances of UK shoppers this Christmas!