Image via JMiks/Shutterstock
Cyber Monday, traditionally the busiest online shopping day of the year, has arrived. Irish shoppers are expected to spend the most this Christmas but, with the majority of online sales going to overseas businesses, a ‘buy Irish’ movement has begun.
Research from eBay.ie ranks Irish shoppers as the biggest Christmas spenders in Europe this year. Ireland tops the list with an average €512.43 to be spent by consumers for the holiday, far above the next in line, Sweden, at €420.86, and France in third at €386.98.
The same research says that 55pc of Irish people will buy online this Christmas and 22pc of those surveyed will use a mobile device to buy gifts this year.
Cyber Monday’s boost in online shopping is largely attributed a number of special offers and discounts available on this day, and a number of Black Friday deals are also still running.
Harvey Norman’s Cyber Monday sale
Prompted by the forecast that Irish shoppers will spend about €500m buying gifts online this year, Harvey Norman has launched a 24-hour flash sale online for Cyber Monday and added additional capacity to HarveyNorman.ie in anticipation of its busiest day for online orders and visitor numbers yet.
Last year, Cyber Monday saw a 100pc increase in visitors compared to the previous year and more than 35,000 total unique visitors are expected this time around. Discounts include 10pc off all tech goods and home appliances and the site is also offering free delivery.
Buy Irish
Meanwhile, the group behind the new national symbol for Irish-owned and operated e-commerce sites joins E-commerce Ireland in asking shoppers to buy Irish when shopping online today. “Based on trends, three quarters of this [€500m] spent will go straight overseas,” said Michael McCormack of eMark.
McCormack warned of confusion when it comes to .ie websites, which consumers may believe to be Irish but are in fact operated by companies based outside Ireland.
“We know that Cyber Monday is likely to be the busiest online shopping day of the year and, therefore, eMark is appealing to Irish online shoppers to consciously look out for retailers who support businesses and jobs in Ireland,” he added.
Check out this list compiled by E-commerce Ireland of Irish retailers and special offers or discounts available from these sites.
Online shopping image by JMiks via Shutterstock
