‘Middle Cyber Monday’ outshines ‘Cyber Monday’

Data collected by Experian has confirmed that 'Middle Cyber Monday', the second Monday of December, has eclipsed 'Cyber Monday' for the first time as the biggest online shopping day of the year in the UK. Experian Hitwise,

the online competitive intelligence tool, registered that British online shoppers paid 120 million visits to retail websites on Middle Monday (9th December), which is a 10.5 percent year-on-year growth from Middle Monday last year that fell on the 10th of December. The number of visits is also a 3.6 percent increase compared to the previous week, record breaking Cyber Monday that registered 115 million visits to retail websites on the 2nd of December.

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UK shoppers shop online during Middle Monday

UK online shoppers also spent 16 million hours in total visiting retail websites, compared to 15.3 million hours on Cyber Monday. Online consumers spent an average of eight minutes on each site visited, which is equal to last week's Cyber Monday. As UK consumers are putting off their Christmas shopping later and later into December, Experian predicted more peaks of shopping on Christmas Eve, with Boxing Day expected to be the largest online retail day the country has seen yet.

James Murray, digital insight manager for Experian marketing services noted: “This is the first time that the second Monday of December (Middle Cyber Monday) has eclipsed the first Monday of December (Cyber Monday) in terms of online visits. This represents a dynamic shift in consumer behaviour and is disrupting the shopping trends that we have been observing for the last five years.”

“As retailers get better at delivering before Christmas, the imperative to order online early is diminishing. With shopping becoming easier on the go, savvy consumers are also increasingly using the internet on mobile devices to browse, compare and shop where, when and how they want. To make the most of these changing consumer shopping habits retailers need to ensure that they are engaging with customers in a consistent, meaningful and relevant way across all channels," concluded Murray.