UK's December Internet Sales Rise 21% So Far After Boxing Day Boost

Sales over the internet have risen a fifth so far this month after many retailers began their Boxing Day sales as early as Christmas Eve.

According to figures from IBM Digital Analytics, sales this month so far have grown 21 per cent helped by a 40.4 per cent increase on Boxing Day.

Mobile traffic on Boxing Day increased to 58 per cent of the total, an increase of 42 per cent over the same day last year.

Sales completed via mobile devices were also strong, rising 63 per cent and exceeding 45 per cent of total online sales. 

Smartphones drove 29.9 per cent of all online traffic versus tablets at 28 per cent. But tablets pulled in 29.4 per cent of all online sales, nearly twice that of smartphone users at 15.8 per cent.

Average order value on tablets was £83.55 and £78.06 on mobile phones.

James Lovell, Smarter Commerce retail solutions consultant at IBM Europe, said: 'This is the first time that traffic on mobile devices has outstripped the PC. Mobile has rapidly become the dominant channel and now retailers really need to look at the role that each device is going to play within the overall customer journey and decision making process.'