Boxing Day to begin on Christmas as online sales kick off early

Almost one-third of people in the UK said they would begin shopping online on Christmas Day, sparking an early start to Britain's annual Boxing Day spending spree, according to Barclaycard research.

More than a quarter of respondents – 28 percent - will login to shop in the evening after the holiday festivities have calmed down, the report said.

Credit card issuers in the UK say online spending has grown by 9.1 percent this Christmas season, which is greater than the 1.2 percent growth in bricks and mortar stores.

“The Boxing Day sales have traditionally been the day when we splash our Christmas cash,” said a Barclaycard spokesperson. “However the relentless growth in online shopping, and ever-earlier sales, means that more and more of us are taking to the web on Christmas day to secure the best bargains.”

The Barclaycard data says that Christmas online sales have grown almost 30 percent since 2012.

“It’s been the theme through much of 2013 – we continue to see shoppers keep up their search for value by shifting more of their shopping online, as the phenomenal success of discount days this year, such as Black Friday and Mega Monday, shows.”

In the United States online sales were up 15 percent, against the 1-3 percent increase in traditional stores following Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving that marks the start of the Christmas shopping season.

As the Christmas shopping season is shorter this year, retailers, pursuing profit started giving discounts earlier.