Retailers peg hopes on Cyber Monday following slow Black Friday

With Cyber Monday rounding up a weekend full of holiday discount shopping, buying online emerges as this season's preferred shopping method with online sales expected reached just under 1 billion pounds on Monday.

Retailers across the country have their hopes pinned on a smashing Cyber Monday as many consumers choose to shop from the comfort of their own homes this Black Friday in lieu of hitting up the streets. Cyber Monday, another borrowed shopping day from the US, is expected to generate 943 million pounds, close to a third more than last year's promotional day.

Cyber Monday leads the way for online shopping surge

In total, the four-day shopping bonanza is predicted to yield a record spend of 3 billion pounds, according to analysts at Experian-IMRG. But consumers were not flocking to the shopping centers and high-streets this weekend to make their purchases, as the predicted rush failed to materialism.

"Last year I think the industry embraced Black Friday with tremendous enthusiasm and dived in. This year it's been more muted," said Consumer analyst Richard Hyman to Press Association. "There is shopper and retailer fatigue. Everyone is saying it's going online and I think that's going to be true in some ways. But it's going to wreak the same economic damage."

The lack of consumers at retail destinations across the UK was felt, as footfall across the UK decreased 9.6 percent year on year, according to retail footfall analysts Springboard. This was likely due to the fact that more retailers opted to extend their Black Friday offers over the full weekend in the hopes of boosting footfall, which led to more shoppers taking advantage of the offers online, as well as services such as 'click and collect'.

"The volume of activity in retail stores over the Friday and Saturday of the Black Friday weekend is lower than last year and the evidence clearly points to the fact that much of this is due to a significant increase in shoppers using online to participate in the event," commented Diane Wehrle, Marketing and Insights Director at Springboard.

The online surge was especially felt at Internet giant Amazon, who reported its largest sales day in history in the UK, with over 7.4 million items sold at a rate of 86 orders per second.

Photo credit: Cybermonday.com