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Is it OK to shop on Christmas day?

Cherry Reynard
Written By:
Cherry Reynard
Posted:
Updated:
20/12/2018

Around a fifth of people will aim to get ahead of the January sales by shopping on Christmas day, though half of those will be doing it in secret to avoid family conflict.

More than a third of shoppers will be browsing the sales before they’ve even opened their presents, according to research from TopCashback.co.uk. 16% will slip off during the lull between present opening and dinner, 10% will wait until after dinner and the 29% will wait until the evening. Just 5% of Brits will wait until everyone has gone to bed to shop.

Browsing peaks between 9pm and 10pm, with the majority of consumers shopping from their mobile phones

The winter sales as a whole are hugely popular with over 80% of consumers planning to shop at some point, spending an average of £336 each. It may prove some relief for beleaguered high street retailers, with ASOS issuing a profit warning on Monday and other retailers showing signs of distress.

Almost three-quarters of Brits will shop in the Boxing Day sales, but only 6% will shop exclusively on the high street. Nearly a third plan to shop just online.

65% of consumers have been putting off buying certain items in anticipation of the sales. Shoppers will be looking for deals on clothes (81%), electricals (47%), shoes (39%), home furnishings (34%) and beauty items (32%). The truly-organised will be bulk-buying birthday and Christmas presents and decorations for 2019.

Adam Bullock, UK Director of TopCashback.co.uk, said: “Last year we saw members spend more than £1.8million through TopCashback on Christmas Day. And despite the nation being divided on whether it’s rude to step away from Christmas Day celebrations or not, a fifth of people are set to shop in the sales again this year to avoid missing out on a bargain.”