Shoppers flood online on Christmas Day and Boxing Day

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The number of people accessing the internet from their smartphone or tablet on Christmas Day and Boxing Day reached an all-time high in 2012.

Research showed 89% of the 2,000 online consumers surveyed went online over the two days with 30% doing so via their smartphone and another 21% from their tablet device, an increase of 8% and 13% respectively year on year.

The annual Online Christmas Activity survey by eDigitalResearch and IMRG also revealed 65% of consumers said that they accessed the internet on both days, up from just under 59% last year, proving that the internet is truly becoming a key part of the festive season.

The results also found that just under half of consumers browsed the internet while watching television on Christmas Day or Boxing Day, with 26% accessing websites from their smartphone and another 19% via their tablet.

Mobile and tablet devices are also playing an integral role in the run up to the big day. This Christmas, 48% of smartphone owners did some pre-purchase research from their mobile device, an increase of about 9% on last year. Similarly, around 30% made a Christmas purchase from their mobile.

Some 17% of smartphone users indicated that they were likely to spend more on their smartphone or tablet device in the run up to next Christmas. However, an additional 31% could also be encouraged to do the same as long as retailers do more to ensure that their mobile experience is as quick as possible.

Just 24% of mobile shoppers this Christmas rated their experience as ‘very easy’ indicating that more needs to be done by retailers to improve the mobile shopping journey. However, this is an increase of 6% on last year’s satisfaction rating.

eDigitalResearch head of research Derek Eccleston: “The traditional Christmas Day and Boxing Day routines are changing. More and more people this Christmas settled down to watch the television with their smartphone or tablet device to hand.

“Nowadays when someone sees a product being advertised or something that catches their eye on TV, the first thing they are likely to do is to reach for their internet enabled device and search for it online.”