‘Tis the season for self-indulgent mobile shopping: Half of Christmas day purchases are gifts from ‘me-to-me’
London – November 22, 2016 – Criteo (NASDAQ: CRTO), the performance marketing technology company, today reveals that Christmas Day is the busiest day for mobile shopping in the UK. Nearly two thirds (62%) of online purchases made on Christmas Day are carried out using a smartphone. On a day that is usually spent opening presents from others, over half (52%) of shoppers in the UK are actually buying items for themselves on their phones.
As consumers up and down the country visit family and friends for Christmas, the mobile phone becomes the device enabling them to take advantage of retailers’ festive offers with just 28% of shoppers opting to buy on a desktop. While Black Friday sees the biggest peaks in sales volume (246%), Christmas day sees the mobile phone used more than at any other time of the year with two out of three transactions completed on a smartphone in between unwrapping presents and eating turkey. Top of the selfie shopper’s list on the 25th of December: fashion and luxury items which see a 11% spike in purchases on the big day.
The findings are part of a new UK-wide ICM consumer study exploring the consumer buying behaviour behind the busy Black Friday to Christmas period in the UK and Criteo data from November to December 2015. This information examines the ways consumers in the UK shop before, during and even after Christmas and provide insight into the peaks of sales activity during the busiest shopping days:
“Today, smartphones sit at the heart of our Christmas shopping activity. From browsing to buying, our devices are a constant and essential part of the way we manage this busy shopping period,” said Gregory Gazagne, EVP EMEA at Criteo. “For retailers, it’s clear that effective mobile marketing is all they should want for Christmas. Even when we think the shopping has ended and the stores have closed on Christmas Day, consumers all over the country are turning back to their phones to take advantage of early deals, avoid the queues and buy things that Santa did not bring.”
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Notes to editors:
This report is based on the findings of an ICM survey of 2,023 adults in the UK aged 18+, between the 18th and 20th May 2016. Interviews were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of adults. ICM is a member of the British Polling Council.
Sales data is taken from Criteo proprietary sales data from November – December 2015.
Media Contact:
Sarah-Anne Bray
PR Manager, UK & Northern Europe
sa.bray@criteo.com
David Puddle
Nelson Bostock Unlimited
0207 985 1110
criteo@nelsonbostockunlimited.com