Christmas shoppers 'leaving it later than ever' in the search of the best price

As more and more UK consumers are predicted to leave their Christmas shopping until the last possible moment in the hopes of scoring the best prices, online retailers may need to brace themselves for what could be the busiest December yet.

According to reports from Experian, global information services company and Shoppercentric, independent shopper research agency, UK shoppers plan to remain cautious with their holiday spending and thanks to the increasing level of confidence in delivery services and 'click and collect' services and plan on leaving gift buying until later than ever.

The 'Experian Festive Insights' survey found that although retail discount days such as 'Black Friday' and 'Cyber Monday,' falling on 28 November and 1 December respectively, are important promotional days for retailers, they are no longer the busiest days for pre-holiday online shopping days. The second Monday of December, dubbed 'Manic Monday' has stolen the title, as last year's 'Manic Monday' reported a huge spike in online retail activity and the trend is predicted to continue this year.

"People are increasingly comfortable leaving their Christmas shopping later and later"

“We believe that the second Monday in December will see a huge amount of online retail activity this year, potentially at the expense of 'Cyber Monday,'” commented Nigel Wilson, managing director, consumer insight for Experian Marketing Services UK and Ireland. “This is because people are increasingly comfortable leaving their Christmas shopping later and later, due to growing trust in the ability of online stores to deliver closer and closer to Christmas.”

According to Experian, UK retailers should be prepared to receive an even bigger number of online visits than Christmas 2013 and should place additional emphasis on the quality of their delivery service. The nearer to Christmas retailers can guarantee online on-time delivery, the longer the increase in online sales should last.

“Shoppers will be looking to retailers to place an added emphasis on their delivery services, with clear messaging about distribution. Brands should be looking to make sure they can offer home delivery as late as possible in the lead up to Christmas,” added Wilson.

This prediction is backed up by Shoppercentric's report “Window On…Spending habits,” which found that 77 percent of 1,000 UK shoppers surveyed will shop online this holiday season via desktop and laptop. The report found that 18-34 year old are also more likely to turn to the internet when shopping for their gifts than in store.

47 percent of shoppers revealed to prefer online shopping in order to avoid holiday crowds and 30 percent of all shoppers plan on using click & collect this Christmas, with 25 percent of shoppers agreeing that click & collect would make a big difference to their shopping this year. However the survey also found that 44 percent of UK shoppers say they need to keep to a tight budget this Christmas, with 65 percent adding they would be searching for the best possible price for gift.

"Make-or-break season" for many UK retailers this Christmas

“It’s a make-or-break season for many businesses and with shoppers looking to squeeze the most value from their Christmas spending and make every penny count, retailers and brands will need to earn their custom through keen pricing, genuine added value and by proactively communicating and selling to potential shoppers and consumers at every opportunity,” said Danielle Pinnington, Managing Director at Shoppercentric.

“The rise in popularity of click and collect will help to drive more shoppers in store and presents retailers with a huge opportunity to really lay on the ambience, and roll out the tempting displays to play to their strengths and encourage incremental purchasing. If they could tempt each of those customers to pick up just one extra item in addition to their parcel collection, retailers will be able to deliver a seriously big uplift in sales.”

Experian findings correlate with Shoppercentric predictions and Wilson adds: “While we are confident in predicting that online activity will continue later than ever before this year, there will, as there always does, come a point where shoppers take to the high-street to pick up those last-minute items. High-street retailers should expect a big increase in footfall from the second weekend in December onwards.”

Although online shopping is expected to start strong and increase through out the month of December, as Christmas comes nearer, online activity is predicted to tail-off and offline footfall numbers are most likely to increase, as shoppers flocked to the high-street to get their last minute gifts. “No more so is the divergence in consumer behaviour more profoundly demonstrated than on Boxing Day, where we see virtually no footfall and a huge spike in web activity, as people start looking for post-Christmas bargains online,” concluded Experian.

Boxing Day, which falls on December 26, is set to become the single biggest online shopping day of the year, for the seventh consecutive year with UK internet users expected to make 129 million visit to retail sites.