The effect was to pull sales activity earlier than in previous years.  Last year, a significant peak in traffic to online retailer websites occurred on 27th December, 30% higher than the previous all-time high recorded on Monday 11th December 2006.    

James Roper, CEO, IMRG, comments, "The only way we Brits can enjoy the nation’s   favourite leisure activity - shopping - on Christmas Day, our biggest holiday of the year, is online.  So it is hardly surprising that millions of us now do a spot of Yuletide bargain hunting, especially as on online shopping trip can take 5 minutes or less, as opposed to a half-day traipse downtown.  

As you would expect, people flock to the online shops later in the day than usual on Christmas Day, generally, after the Queen's Speech, with main action happening between 8 and 10pm, and the e-tills keep ringing right up till midnight. This is a great boon for shops and shop staff, who seem to work all hours in the run up to Christmas, as they finally can take a well-earned day off to be with friends and family."    

The internet has made a tremendous change to people’s lives, and especially by allowing people to do what they want when they want. It comes as no surprise that people want to shop online on Christmas Day. What is surprising - and has not   previously been possible to know - is just how many people are shopping online on Christmas Day, and how much they are spending.    

This new clear insight into actual online trading patterns by hour and day has become   possible by combining sales data from SecureTrading, the UK’s leading independent payment services provider, tracking millions of transactions from 1,500 UK e-retailers, with traffic data from the leading digital market research firm, eDigitalResearch, using a sample of over 250 million page views per month from leading UK retailers that have its survey code installed on their web site.    

And just to underpin that strong Xmas E-message, here's some IMRG fast facts to chew-over:  

• total Christmas e-retail sales (i.e. Q4 2007) are expected to reach £17.6 bn, an 82% increase on the £9.6 bn recorded for the same period in 2006  
• full year 2007 e-retail sales will be £53.3 bn, 76% higher than the £30.2 bn recorded for 2006, and considerably exceeding the £42 bn IMRG estimated at the beginning of this year  
• the UK's 27m online shoppers will generate 860m parcel deliveries in 2007  
  43m Britons aged 16+ use the internet. More than 60% (15m+) of UK households are online and 85% of these have broadband connections. 

As for us here at EASIserv.com Towers, we're just thrilled with this positive out-turn for the nations' e-tailers this year; it speaks volumes for the growing strength of the industry and gives a great launch-pad for ecommerce in 2008. 

So the EASIserv.com message for the New Year to any retailer who, this day, is standing shivering by the Ecommerce poolside wondering whether or not to jump in....c'mon in - the water's lovely!