More set to be spent on Cyber Monday than Black Friday this year

There’s more predicted to be spent today - Cyber Monday - than any other day of the year, with Brits expected to part with £3.34 billion – 6% more than last year, according to a report in the Mail Online.

Retail experts have said that this is because the best bargains are more likely to be found on Cyber Monday, with shoppers preferring to buy online rather than visiting the high street.

Measures of the number of people visiting the shops show a fall compared to last year, suggesting that shoppers have been put off by long queues and the days of fighting over cheap deals are over.

Nationwide Building Society said it was seeing customers preferring to shop online with spending via smartphones, laptops, and tablets all up.

While the annual festive shopping report from VoucherCodes.co.uk, said £3.34 billion would be spent on Cyber Monday, the highest spend of the whole Black Friday weekend, which it suggested would be up slightly by 0.4% on last year.  

Online retail experts Pattern, who chart price movements, also believe the best deals are available on Cyber Monday.

It said: “For parents looking to find the best deals for their children’s Christmas presents, our data indicates that they should look and wait until Cyber Monday to receive the best value for money.

“Compared to Black Friday, popular gifts such as PlayStations, Xbox and Nintendo Switches are all cheaper on Cyber Monday compared to Black Friday.

“Shoppers looking to purchase some of the most consistently popular consumer electronics including Bose and Sony headphones, Amazon Kindle, Echo and Fire Sticks and Ring Doorbells will also see more bang for their buck on Cyber Monday.

Anita Naik, savings expert at VoucherCodes.co.uk, commented: “Although shoppers will be using this time to stock up on presents ahead of Christmas, people will be making much more considered purchases this year with many waiting until Cyber Monday.

Surveys suggest 40% of the UK population will make a purchase over the four-day period from Black Friday to Cyber Monday.

Of these, 46% are looking for big ticket items such as electricals, followed closely by discounted clothing and footwear (44%), toys (35%) and cosmetics (30%).

Black Friday sales were down 6.1% on the same day last year and a huge 23.3% compared to pre-pandemic numbers in 2019 as cost-of-living pressures continue to dominate household finances.