Shoppers were more willing than ever to interrupt their Christmas Day revelry for some online bargain-hunting this year, delivering a festive boost for retailers.
And the earlier-than-usual rush to the online sales left traditional high street stores free to clean up on Boxing Day, with the frenzy continuing through Sunday.
Sales on Christmas Day itself were up 21% on last year, making it the most lucrative ever for online shopping, according to data from a web services group PCA Predict.
John Lewis reported a 10.7% increase in revenues on 25 December compared with last year, with the spree slowing only between 2pm and 4pm, as people sat down for lunch.
The busiest time was between 9pm and 10pm, once families were finished with food and opening presents.
Some 75% of John Lewis’s online traffic came via mobile phones, as shoppers chose to browse bargains from the sofa.
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The department store said its most popular items included the Apple Watch Sport for £289 and a goose feather and down pillow for £16.
John Lewis earlier reported a near 18% surge during the first hour of its sale, which began at 5pm on Christmas Eve.
Upmarket department store Selfridges said online sales on Christmas Day were double last year’s level.
And festive browsing also provided a glimmer of light for the struggling video game retailer Game.
The gaming specialist enjoyed a 140% increase in web traffic from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day, according to digital analytics firm SimilarWeb.
The one-day surge offered some respite for Game, which was forced to issue a profit warning in the runup to Christmas after sales proved weaker than expected.
But the decision by a host of retailers to start their sales early meant Boxing Day was less busy than expected online, with PCA Predict reporting web shopping activity down 3%.
However, high street retailers said Boxing Day had gone well, with the spree continuing into Sunday.
Selfridges had its best-ever first hour of in-store trade, taking more than £2m between 9am and 10am.
Harrods in Knightsbridge, central London, reported one of its biggest-ever queues, which it said stretched around the corner of the store.
Overall footfall on the day was 11.7% higher than last year, according to retail specialists Springboard.
And the improvement lasted into Sunday, with UK average sales up 8.9% on the equivalent Sunday of last year by 11am.
Sales were more weighted towards the end of the day, said the firm’s marketing director Diane Wehrle.
“Shoppers apparently were using their first few hours of the day to search for the best bargains online and then venture into the stores to purchase,” she said.
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Howard Archer, chief economist at economics analysis firm IHS Global Insight, said changing shopping patterns reflected savvy shoppers spotting early-bird online bargains before turning their attention to high street deals.
He said this was “clearly a consequence of the extended squeeze on consumers purchasing power that occurred between 2008 and 2014”.
Low prices for both food and fuel had helped boost sales by freeing up extra cash in people’s wallets, according to IHS Global Insight.
But the firm warned of the danger that consumers might be racking up unsustainable debts to fund major purchases.
Net unsecured consumer credit has ballooned to £713m in November, compared with £422m in October, the second highest monthly level since 2007.
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