Cyber Monday on 1 December is set to be the busiest online shopping day of the year and Irish shoppers are forecast to spend €22m on the day, an increase of 17pc from last year, according to Visa Europe.
The day is one of the busiest because online shoppers are taking advantage of the remainder of Black Friday deals that have spilled over to the rest of the world from the US, as well as the fact that with Christmas three weeks away, the clock is ticking on deliveries.
Over the course of the month of December alone, Irish online shoppers will ring up 7m e-commerce transactions with their Visa debit, credit and prepaid cards, bringing the total level of e-commerce spending over the four-week period to €474m.
One euro in every €4 of Irish consumer spending is now on a Visa card, making Visa Europe’s data one of the most reliable indicators of trends in Irish consumer spending.
Online spending hits record high
Visa Europe also revealed that Irish e-commerce spending with Visa cards – debit, credit and prepaid – has risen to €4.6bn on annual basis, a new record high reflecting the rising popularity of online spending.
This means that Irish Visa cardholders are now spending €8,925 online every minute on an average day.
“Online shopping is exploding in Ireland, with Irish e-tailers attracting customers at home and from all across the world,” said Visa’s country manager Conor Langford.
“At Visa Europe, we are enabling Irish companies to take advantage of the possibilities that e-commerce presents by making sure that online spending is safe and convenient.
“Visa Europe remains committed to developing new products to make online shopping even easier in order to create more opportunities for Irish companies so they can gain even more customers in the future,” Langford said.
Shopping Santa image via Shutterstock
