Get set for ‘Manic Monday’: UK e-shoppers set to smash festive records

By / Sally Hooton / In In the News /

Report says ‘Manic Monday’ will outstrip ‘Cyber Monday’ with 151 million visits to online retail sites and £676.5 million spend:

2014 Predictions

Black Friday – Spend: £555.5m (More than £385k per minute). Online traffic to retail sites: 124 million (17% increase compared to 2013)
Cyber Monday – Spend: £649.6m (£451k per minute). Online traffic to retail sites: 145 million (26% increase compared to 2013)
Manic Monday – Spend: £676.5m (£470k per minute). Online traffic to retail sites: 151 million (26% increase compared to 2013)

New figures produced by the global information services company, Experian, in conjunction with IMRG, the UK’s industry association for online retailers, have tipped online Christmas shopping to set new records this December.

Buoyed by increasing consumer confidence in delivery times and click & collect, and also fuelled by the widespread use of mobile technology, the Experian-IMRG projections estimate that the key peaks for pre-Christmas online shopping include Cyber Monday (the first Monday in December) and Manic Monday (the second Monday in December). Huge online spending increases in 2014 are also predicted as people are more comfortable shopping online and leaving it increasingly later in the run up to Christmas.

Insights are taken from the combined datasets of Hitwise, Experian`s online competitive intelligence tool, and the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index using historical data and trends to make estimated predictions for 2014.

According to Experian and IMRG:

Manic Monday will surpass Cyber Monday and will be the busiest pre-Christmas online shopping day in the UK, with 151 million online visits to retail sites spending an estimated £676.5 million.
Online traffic on Manic Monday is expected to be up 26 per cent year on year, with shoppers spending an average of £470,000 each minute.
Online sales on Black Friday are expected to reach £555.5 million, with smartphone and tablet devices accounting for £196.6m.

James Miller, senior retail consultant at Experian Marketing Services, said: “Christmas 2014 is on track to be another record breaking year for online retail in the UK. Continuing a trend we identified last year, Cyber Monday will no longer be the busiest pre-Christmas online shopping day, with Manic Monday expected to take the lead. With increased confidence in the standard of delivery services and ‘click and collect’, we expect to see people break away from traditional shopping habits. This is why it’s key for marketers to make sure their Christmas campaigns reflect these peaks of interest and know their audience in order to offer them the gift ideas they are looking for through the best channels to engage them on.

“We have identified a number of key demographic types, who are believed to be behind the rise of online sales during the festive period. Online shopping is an important leisure activity for a wide variety of people, from active middle-income families with teenage children to young singles. These tech-savvy groups are typically early adopters of new technology trends, prolific online shoppers, and active users of mobile and tablet devices.”

Tina Spooner, chief information officer at IMRG said: “The US phenomenon of Black Friday is now firmly embedded in the UK e-retail calendar and, while the first two weeks of December are traditionally the peak festive trading weeks for the online retail industry, Black Friday now marks the start of the online shopping season. Smartphones and tablets are set to account for over half of all traffic to retail websites during the festive season and on Black Friday alone, online spend via mobile devices is set to reach over £196m.

“E-retail sales have grown 17% year-to-date in 2014 and retailers are increasingly confident in their online performance during the fourth quarter, which indicates the industry is gearing up for another record-breaking Christmas.”

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Author: Sally Hooton

Editor at The GMA | www.the-gma.com

Trained as a journalist from the age of 18 and enjoying a long career in regional newspaper reporting and editing, Sally Hooton joined DMI (Direct Marketing International) magazine as editor in 2001. DMI then morphed into The GMA, taking her with it!