Cyber Monday: Irish consumers will spend 31pc more on Christmas this year

1 Dec 2014

The number of Christmas gifts that Irish consumers will purchase this year will be up 31pc on last year, according to research by eBay.ie.

According to the research, a typical Irish shopper will buy 22 Christmas presents, spending an average of €266 on gifts.

Tech-savvy consumers will buy 12 of these gifts online this year.

The research, conducted by Imagine Marketing on behalf of eBay.ie and combined with eBay’s own forecasting tools, indicates that one in five consumers in Ireland will use their smartphones this year to do their Christmas shopping while at work.

Consumers will spend on average a further €270 on other Christmas-related items, such as food, cards and decorations.

Around 31pc of Irish people have jewelry and watches at the top of their Christmas wish lists.

Research by Visa Europe last week revealed Irish shoppers are forecast to spend €22m today, Cyber Monday, an increase of 17pc from last year. 

Cyber Monday has become the largest online shopping day of the year, with online retailers offering deep discounts.

One euro in every €4 of Irish consumer spending is now on a Visa card. 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.

Five steps for successful Cyber Monday shopping

“Online shopping is a great way of enjoying the Christmas shopping experience from the comfort of your home, and you need only take some small precautions to make sure you’re shopping smartly and safely,” advises PriceSpy.ie’s online shopping expert Lorna Barker.

Cyber Monday shoppers can use price comparison engines such as PriceSpy.ie or the PriceSpy app to check where they can find the best price on a particular product, and a handy Christmas tree icon lets them know if delivery is promised in time for Christmas.

Additionally, Barker has five tips for successful shopping this Cyber Monday:

  1. Make a list
  2. Make use of comparison sites and discussion forums, which can be great sources of reviews and opinions and a quick search will reveal other buyers’ opinions
  3. Read the small print – including delivery and business conditions – before you click to buy
  4. Know your rights – online shoppers are protected under EU legislation, which includes a 14-day cooling off period within which you may choose to return a purchase without question (though there are some exceptions, such as bespoke products and perishable goods)
  5. Shop safely by taking note of whether a site is secure or not, denoted by a URL beginning with https:// and a padlock icon in most browsers

Christmas shopping online image via Shutterstock

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com