Christmas Day set to create new online spending record, says Visa Europe | Industry News | TalkingRetail.com

Christmas Day is set to see record online consumer spending this year, according to analysis by Visa Europe.

The payments company expects to process over 960,000 online transactions, worth up to£36m, throughout the day as Britons extend their festive cheer with a spot of retail therapy.

In 2009, Visa Europe processed over 800,000 online transactions on Christmas Day, worth almost£30m. 

However, with many retailers launching their seasonal sales on Christmas Eve this year, Visa predicts a year-on-year spend increase of 20% as consumers log online to make the most of the early discounts and buy their big ticket goods ahead of the VAT rise coming into place on 4 January.

In addition, with Boxing Day falling on a Sunday this year, higher online spend levels are expected to continue over the festive weekend as high street shoppers are faced with shorter trading hours on what is usually the start of the busy Christmas sales.

With major retailers closed and consumers spending time with their families rather than pounding the street, Visa’s data shows that on Christmas Day, online spend is expected to account for 50% of total expenditure on Visa cards (debit, credit and prepaid), compared to 20% throughout the rest of the year.

Dr Steve Perry, Commercial Director at Visa Europe, said:“The lure of early Christmas sales this year will see record numbers of people heading online on Christmas Day to snap up bargains and we expect online purchases to make up half of all the Visa card transactions we will process on that day.

“The number of eCommerce transactions is growing by about 25% every year and there’s no denying the appeal of internet shopping for consumers, who are feeling increasingly confident, safe and web-savvy as they hunt for bargains online.”

Visa bases its predictions on up-to-the-minute spending data and previous years’ Christmas spending trends. Over £1 in every £4 spent in the UK is on a Visa card, making this data one of the most reliable indicators of trends in consumer spending.
Source: Visa Europe

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