The Bookseller.com

22nd August 2008

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Christmas comes early for online shops

06.12.07 Graeme Neill

Internet retailers will hit their "Christmas Eve" over the next week, with both Amazon.co.uk and Play.com expecting their busiest periods of the season.

Robin Goad, research director at online research house Hitwise, said internet traffic will reach a high on Sunday, with sales peaking the following day. "It's much later than usual," he said. "Going back a few years, the key period for internet retailers was at the start of the first week in December. It's now moved to a week later." He added that internet retailers could enjoy a healthy Christmas, with traffic increasing by 19% between October and November this year.

Amy Worth, lead account manager for books at Amazon.co.uk, said it was expecting a "huge Christmas". "For us, last year our key day fell around the 11th or 12th," she said. "We are still seeing a ramp up in terms of the number of orders, and are in the really key trading period now. But there are certainly busier days to come during the next week."

"This week definitely is key for us," added Georgina Stoaling, books category manager at Play.com. "The previous weekend was huge, and this will continue into early next week." Amazon has a wide range of delivery options available to customers, including same-day delivery up until Christmas Eve for selected areas. Play.com has yet to reveal its final guaranteed delivery date.

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