55 per cent of high street retailers expect to see a rapid increase in sales from mobile devices this Christmas, according to a UK survey by Barclays. This is predicted to help push usage of click-&-collect functionality up by more than a third over last year.
Overall, 65 per cent of retailers expect traffic to rise by more than 10 per cent on Christmas Day compared to last Christmas. 40 per cent predict a rise of more than a quarter, and 14 per cent are hoping traffic will surge by more than half. Only 1.6 per cent of retailers expect to see no growth at all.
The first surge of online activity will be between 3-4pm, after Christmas dinner, and is then expected to peak between 8-10pm.
“Christmas Day may be one of only two days a year when retailers are not physically able to throw open their doors but, that won’t stop consumers bagging sales bargains online,” said Richard Lowe, head of retail & wholesale at Barclays. “This means more festive cheer for retailers looking to maximise sales during the all-important Christmas period.”
