"Tesco on one hand and internet retailers on the other will take
the majority of retail growth and the High Street is going to be
squeezed in between the two," warned Richard Perks, director of
retail research at Mintel.
“This is also going to be the first Christmas where Auction
sites, particularly eBay, have a noticeable impact,” he added.
In 2001, only 22% of shoppers said that they would buy at least
one gift online, but this year two out of five UK consumers will do
some Christmas shopping online.
The telephone survey of 1,000 UK adults also reveals that 15% of
people now prefer to do their Christmas shopping online, up from
10% last year.
"There has been an impressive increase in the number of
households with broadband, which has made shopping on-line a lot
easier and so for many a much more appealing way to buy Christmas
gifts than heading to the High Street,” explained Parks. “These
broadband users also tend to be younger and more affluent and as
such are likely to really push the boat out, giving on-line
retailers even more to shout about this Christmas.”
The survey reveals that on average, shoppers will spend £366 on
presents in the run up to Christmas, with 19% likely to spend £500
or more, rising to 30% amongst the 25 - 34 year olds and those
living in the North West of England.
Predicted top sellers this year are DVDs, videos, music,
software and electrical goods.
