Santa surfers saving billions on presents

by MATTHEW BAILEY and ANIL DAWAR, Daily Mail

Last updated at 07:40 06 December 2004


Christmas shoppers are saving up to two thirds on the price of gifts by buying them on the Internet rather than the High Street, research reveals.

Increasing numbers of consumers are shunning stores and going online to find bargains.

The so-called "Santa Surfers" could make a total saving of £6billion - fuelling the crisis that has hit traditional retailers in the run-up to Christmas. Major names including Marks & Spencer, Dixons, Debenhams, W H Smith, Boots, Allders and Habitat have already slashed prices by up to 50 per cent in a desperate bid to drum up business.

But experts say Internet stores - which can offer lower prices because they don't have costly overheads such as rent - are providing serious competition.

"It's one more nail in the coffin of some High Street stores," said Jeremy Baker, senior lecturer in marketing at London Metropolitan University.

"Internet use is shooting up and recent figures show a very large increase from one year to the next. There are some real bargains.

"It's just one more problem for the retailers. Also people shop around on the Internet and that makes them much more price conscious and savvy.

"Even just a small move to online shopping will cause a large drop in shop profits as the stores' overheads stay high."

Huge savings

A survey by the UK online centres organisation identified ten items which cost £1,128.88 on the High Street and just £761.90 online.

Additional research by the Daily Mail found a further five items which were cheaper online, bringing the totals to £3,568.83 and £2,808.76 - a saving of £760.07 or 22 per cent.

Certain items are up to two thirds cheaper and, in some cases, gifts actually cost less on a store's website than in the shop itself.

A Sony V2M desktop computer costs £1,500 in PCWorld but can be bought from the online site for £1,320.

In addition to the bargains available, many shoppers appreciate the convenience of shopping on the Internet. Figures released last month showed that Internet shopping is soaring in popularity.

Britain's largest online retailer, tesco.com, and ocado.com, the internet business of Waitrose, have predicted orders will double compared with the same period last year.

According to the Office for National Statistics, Internet shoppers spent £11.4billion last year, a 78 per cent increase from 2002. Consultancy firm Forrester Research said that this Christmas British shoppers were expected to spend £3billion over the Internet.

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