The holidays are the busiest season of the year. Although it may seem early to begin preparing, many consumers have begun setting their budgets and adding items to their lists. This year, more than in previous years, holiday shoppers will be doing the majority of their browsing and purchasing on PC’s, laptops, tablets and smartphones.
In 2013, one in five U.K. consumers completed more than half of their holiday shopping online while only 7 percent of shoppers in the UK completed their shopping in store.1 This year, 56 percent of consumers are predicted to do a majority portion of their holiday shopping online.2
In 2014, consumers are predicted to spend the same or more on their online holiday shopping. In order to give the consumer the best shopping experience, retailers are already preparing for the holiday season. To make the holiday season profitable, online retailers are optimizing the mobile experience, rolling out more digital marketing advertisements and gaining insights from the customers’ behavior.
If you are planning to do shopping online, consider browsing the top five e-commerce websites and smartphone apps in Britain before the holiday rush begins:
Top E-Commerce Websites For Holiday Shopping3
Due to recent technology and the appeal of convenience, more consumers are doing their holiday shopping solely on e-commerce websites. The number of consumers that are planning to purchase all of their holiday items online increases 42 percent year-over-year. In 2014, 65 percent of consumers will purchase at least one gift online this holiday season.4These are the top five e-commerce websites:
- Amazon UK
Amazon is the number one online retailer in the UK and continuously reaffirms its position as the website to go shopping. In 2013, Amazon’s e-commerce sales were £42.4bn – the largest of all online retailers.
- Apple
Apple is the official website for all Macintosh products in the UK. In the first quarter of 2014, Apple averaged £34.8bn. During the upcoming holiday season, Apple is projected to sell 51 million iPhones, 28 million iPads and around 5 million Macs.
- Argos
Argos is the UK’s leading digital retailer, offering more than 33,000 products. It is also the UK’s largest high street retailer online with over 430 million website visits annually.
- Play.com
Play.com is an online retailer of DVD’s, music, books, clothing, sporting goods, technology and much more. This website also has an option to buy used goods from merchants, which encourages its customers to save.
- Tesco
Tesco is one of the world’s largest retailers who made £43.6bn in revenue in 2013. They are a multinational grocery store with over 3300 stores in the UK.
Top Smartphone Apps For Holiday Shopping6
Shoppers are even more enthusiastic when it comes to mobile shopping. The UK has the highest number of predicted online sales through a mobile device in all of Europe. In 2014, it is predicted that 45 percent of consumers will use their smartphone or tablet to purchase at least one gift over the holiday season.4 Here are the top five smartphone apps:
- eBay
eBay is the largest online marketplace in the world. Their smartphone application had over 100 million downloads in 2013.
- Amazon
The Amazon application allows the user to make quick purchases, search and compare prices.
- HotUKDeals
HotUKDeals is the UK’s largest site for member submitted deals, vouchers and bargains. Their application has a community of over 800,000 people sharing deals.
- Quidco
Quidco is the UK’s top cash back and voucher codes site. This app offers the user the top money saving offers nearby.
- Groupon
Groupon’s application offers its user deals from all over the globe.
References
1 Moth, D. (6 February 2014). One in five US and UK consumers did all of their Christmas shopping online: stats. Retrieved October 28, 2014 from http://bit.ly/1wcWbYQ
2 National Retail Federation. (2014). Eholiday 2014 pre-holiday retailer and consumer survey results. Retrieved October 28, 2014 from http://bit.ly/1zJy3Rn
3 Blue-Shark Design. (3 December 2010). Top 10 Uk e-commerce websites. Retrieved October 28, 2014 from http://bit.ly/1nQ4kAM
4 Videology. (2014). A cross-screen Christmas. Retrieved October 28, 2014 from http://bit.ly/1nQ4oAz
5 Lindner, M. (20 October 2014). Many UK consumers plan to shop online the week before Christmas. Retrieved October 28, 2014 from http://bit.ly/1zfphcw
6 Martin, C. (18 November 2013). 5 of the best apps for shopping on smartphones and tablets. Retrieved October 28, 2014 from http://bit.ly/1xEp9zk
7 IBM ExperienceOne. (26 June 2014). Holiday online retail wrapped: What’s in store for 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2014 from http://slidesha.re/1tMJeFE
Jordhan Woods 
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