10bn up for grabs for online retailers this Christmas

This Christmas, the average individual budget for Christmas presents and related festive season items is £375, according to a new study from Rackspace® Hosting.

If that figure appears low, it could be because over one third (35 per cent) of the 2,000 UK adults surveyed by OnePoll, say they intend to spend less than they did last year, with 41 per cent still unsure of what their total budget will be. But retailers needn’t despair, that still means a total UK Christmas budget pot of just over £18bn. So with 56 per cent saying they intend to spend more than half of their budget online, that’s a whopping £10bn up for grabs - providing retailers’ websites and software are up to the task.

While it may be more convenient to shop online there are still significant frustrations for many shoppers. Nearly two thirds (63 per cent) said they were disappointed with an element of their online shopping last year. The most annoying issues being complicated check out procedures (33 per cent) and websites that are slow to load (28 per cent). These frustrations led to 48 per cent abandoning their purchase, and 34 per cent trying a different website.

When it comes to methods of shopping, interestingly, one fifth (21 per cent) of UK adults will shop online using a tablet (up from 12 per cent from 2012), while Christmas shopping on smartphones is also up 5 per cent to 16 per cent.

“It’s clear from our findings that UK consumers are increasingly going online to shop and with the competition high for that £10bn, online retailers can’t afford to lose custom due to frustrations caused by slow websites or check-outs,” says Jeff Cotten, Managing Director, International at Rackspace. “People will be relying on being connected over the holiday period and businesses need to ensure their websites have the support structures in place to cope with the surges of traffic and festive demand.”

The survey also revealed:
Christmas shopping online frustrations:
· Women tend to be more intolerant of slow websites than men (23 per cent female as opposed to 17 per cent male) and as a result are more likely to abandon the purchase as a result (52 per cent female, 42 per cent male).
Christmas shopping online satisfactions:
· The main reason for shopping online for 56 per cent of those surveyed was convenience, followed the fact that one third (32 per cent) feel that it is cheaper
· Nearly a quarter (24 per cent) said they shopped online to avoid the Christmas crowds.
A Connected Christmas day and Boxing day:
· On Christmas day, connectivity will be essential, as 65 per cent will be going online to send season’s greetings to friends and family (26 per cent) and post pictures of their celebrations (17 per cent) using social media channels
· Others will be surfing the web (18 per cent), playing online games (16 per cent) and watching on demand TV (13 per cent)
· It’s a similar picture on Boxing Day, with 63 per cent going online with two in 10 (19 per cent) checking out the sales, 16 per cent playing games and 12 per cent catching up on the Christmas TV they missed the previous day
· The internet will also help a fifth of people looking for ideas on where to go – whether out walking or going to sporting events.
Christmas by the age groups:
· 10 per cent of 18-34 year olds will do all of the Christmas shopping online
· More 18-34 year olds (32%) than any other age groups shop online so that they can search out the best deals
· 24 per cent of 25-34 year olds use their work computer to do their shopping and 10 per cent of these will be shopping at work during the day
· 83 per cent of 18-24 year olds will be going online on Christmas day as opposed to less than half (45 per cent) of 55 year olds