Twice as many British consumers will use the internet to purchase Christmas presents this festive season, compared to last year, according to a new report.
Published by the financial services firm Deloitte, the research shows that a growing number of shoppers in the UK rely on ecommerce websites at this time of year.
Last year, seven per cent of Brits bought the majority of their festive goods online, compared to 14 per cent this Christmas.
And despite the widely-publicized credit crunch, consumers will each splash out an average of $1,462 on presents, both in stores and online, up from $1,360 in the corresponding survey last year.
"More people will shop online this year than ever before as the appeal of cyberspace to avoid the Christmas crush takes hold," commented Tarlok Teji, head of retail at Deloitte.
Leading stores are responding to the shift by opening their own ecommerce sites. Seventy-two per cent of leading retailers now offer online mail order sites, according to the report, which compares to 51 per cent in 2006.
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