Christmas Cheer For Online Retailers
Online retailers have been the big winners of the battle for consumer spending in the run-up to Christmas.Around £400m was spent over the internet or telephone using Mastercard credit cards or debit cards during the first three weeks of December ADVERTISEMENT
up 17.5% on a year earlier.In contrast, the high street saw sales rise 2% by value over the same period, although it retained its dominant position in the retail sector.
Figures released by Mastercard in the UK show that pre-Christmas spending by debit and credit cards was up 5% at £1.85bn this year.
Paul Lucraft, general manager of Mastercard Europe in the UK, said: "Our figures for retail sales paid for with Mastercard and Maestro suggest that stories about an excessively quiet pre-Christmas period on the high street may be wide of the mark, once online and phone sales are taken into account.
"The fact that online and phone spending has increased by around almost 6% also suggests that people are attracted to the ease and simplicity of using a debit or credit card to shop for goods on the internet or on the phone."
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