Boxing day was the busiest day for online retailers during the Christmas shopping season, and therefore the whole of 2007, according to new research from In ternet research firm Hitwise.
There were 7.1% more UK Internet visits to Shopping and Classifieds websites on Boxing Day this year than the second busiest day in December (2nd December), and 1.3% more than Boxing Day last year.
“Online Christmas shopping patterns have changed significantly over the last two years,” commented Robin Goad, Hitwise Director of Research. “Historically, online retailers have focused on the pre-Christmas shopping period and, in 2005, the peak shopping day online was 4th December. However, this year, bargain-hungry British shoppers have voted with their wallets, and more people than ever are shunning cold turkey on Boxing Day in favour of online sales shopping.”
The three busiest online shopping days in December, 2005-2007 (based on UK Internet traffic to Shopping and Classifieds websites)
| Rank | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 |
| 1 | 26-Dec | 26-Dec | 04-Dec |
| 2 | 02-Dec | 10-Dec | 11-Dec |
| 3 | 09-Dec | 03-Dec | 10-Dec |
High street retailers winning the sales shopping battle
High street retailers received over twice as many UK Internet visits on Boxing Day as their pure-play online rivals. A Hitwise custom category of the top 50 high street retailers’ websites accounted for 5.39% of all UK Internet visits on Boxing day, compared to 2.37% for top 50 pure-play online retailers. The five high street retailers with the most visited websites were: Argos, Currys, Comet, Marks & Spencer and Next.
“The popularity of high street retailers during the sales season is due to a combination of strong brand presence and shoppers choosing to browse online before heading out to the high street or shopping centre,” commented Goad. “Looking at the top five list, it is clear that the most popular sales shopping items this year will be electricals and clothing.”
Top 5 high street retailers, Boxing Day 2007 (based on share of UK Internet visits to Shopping and Classifieds websites, 26th December 2007)
| Rank | Retailer | URL | Market share |
| 1 | Argos | www.argos.co.uk | 4.25% |
| 2 | Currys | www.currys.co.uk | 2.53% |
| 3 | Comet | www.comet.co.uk | 1.86% |
| 4 | Marks & Spencer | www.marksandspencer.com | 1.77% |
| 5 | Next | www.next.co.uk | 1.73% |
Source: www.hitwise.com
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