£3bn online festive shopping frenzy predicted

Christmas shoppers are set to break web sales records with a £3bn online festive frenzy, according to the Royal Mail.

Royal Mail figures show that online spend in the four weeks running up to Christmas is predicted to be double that of the same period last year, and will contribute to a record-breaking total of £15bn for 2003 – double the total for last year.

The growth has also seen a shift in the demographics of online shoppers and the range of products purchased on the web.

Women now make up half of the 12 million regular online home shoppers, with more than 8,000 women between the ages of 18 and 54 joining in. Men, however, still spend much more online - splashing out £871 a year compared to £705 by women.

And while CDs, videos and books are still the most popular products, bigger items such as electrical goods, clothes and furniture have shown significant growth this year.

Rebecca Jennings, retail analyst at Forrester, said in a statement: "With UK online retail set to grow 46 per cent this year, and another 40 per cent in 2004, it's never been more important for retailers, both catalogue and online, to be prepared for the seasonal rush."

Ross Drake, head of goods distribution at Royal Mail, said the company expects to deliver some 40 million of the 70 million goods ordered online.

"Online retail shopping in the UK is still rapidly growing and once again is set to provide a bumper Christmas for the UK's e-retailers," he said in a statement.