NEWS

BOXING DAY ONLINE RETAIL SALES REACH AN ESTIMATED £281 MIILLION, UP 23%

Christmas Eve - £181M, up 68%

Christmas Day - £132M, up 29%

LONDON, December 28, 2009 - Christmas sentiment has been replaced by a new retail religion as eager online shoppers spent £132 million on Christmas Day alone, according to live estimates from Retail Decisions (ReD), a world leader in card fraud prevention, payment processing and card issuing. ReD saw a 29% increase versus last year, when enthusiastic buyers took a break from turkey and Christmas TV to surf for the biggest bargains.

On Boxing Day, online sales continued to rise reaching an estimated total of £281 million, an increase of 23%. Consumers logged on early in the day to pick up the best bargains with sales up an estimated 94% by midday however, sales slowed later in the day.

Online stores like Comet, B&Q and John Lewis experienced early spending as internet sales were posted on Christmas Eve. In advance of the Boxing Day sales on the high street, consumers were lured online by special deals on the most popular products and the last opportunity to take advantage of VAT at 15%. On Christmas Eve, a day that’s traditionally quiet online, sales rose by an estimated 68% to £181 million.

Online and high street retailers used every trick in the book as they competed for their share of the shoppers’ budgets. With slashed prices and ever-earlier sales promotions, UK consumers no longer need to wait for the formalities of Christmas to be over before seeking out the best bargains. ReD’s statistics also show how online retail growth in the lead up to Christmas outperformed the high street, as shoppers prefer to avoid the bad weather and the crush of the malls.

ReD reports that December will exceed the same period last year and reach an estimated £5.4 billion. Carl Clump, ReD’s CEO, comments “The 16% rise in online retail sales shows how important the internet has become as part of our daily lives. We see that online shoppers are most likely to spend their money with large retailers, because they have confidence in the longevity of reputable brands. ReD’s customers’ tend to be large retailers, with a strong track record and good reputation, which is why we are experiencing such a large upturn in online transactions."

Unfortunately, fraudsters also spent more online at Christmas with an estimated £123 million of attempted fraud expected by the end of December. According to transactions seen by ReD, the average attempted fraudulent transaction is now tracking at £232, a massive 83% more than the genuine shoppers’ average of £127. Trends generated from our industry leading fraud prevention systems, show how fraudsters are constantly trying to find new ways of taking advantage of online retailers, especially during the busiest time of the year.

The Samsung LCD TV topped the shopping charts this Christmas, with the Apple iTouch, the Nikon Digital Camera and the Toshiba Laptop following closely behind (see list of top ten most popular products below). The top three most fraud prone products are currently Apple MacBook Pro, the Sony Playstation Slim and the Apple IPOD Touch.

What’s hot online

1. Samsung LCD TV

2. Apple IPOD touch

3. Nikon Digital Camera

4. Toshiba Laptop

5. Nintendo Wii Black

Although they are spending more per transaction, fraudsters’ choice of products closely mirrors those of a genuine shopper (see product list below), as fraudsters shrewdly choose the most popular ‘must-have’ products, which they can resell easily on the black market.

What’s hot with fraudsters

1. Apple MacBook Pro

2. Sony Playstation Slim

3. HP Laptop

4. Apple IPOD Touch

5. Apple MacBook White

6. Samsung LCD TV

7. Nintendo Wii Black

8. Nintendo Wii Standard

9. Netbook

10.Sony PSP GO Console