Is Horticulture Getting Its Share of Online Sales?
Irish to spend €172 each online on gifts this Christmas - Visa Europe

The research finds that more than 94pc plan to buy some Christmas gifts online this year with men likely to spend more (€192) online than women (€162).Irish consumers are set to spend a total of €356m online on gifts in the run up to Christmas with an average spend of €172 per shopper, according to research from Visa Europe.
According to Visa Europe, the majority of Irish shoppers (85pc) believe they can save an average of 18pc on Christmas gifts by purchasing them over the internet instead of on the High Street. Three quarters (74pc) of people believe that shopping online is a safe and secure way of shopping and two thirds (66pc) turn to the internet because of the protection that paying with cards gives them compared to cash.
Today is set to be the busiest ever day for online shopping across Europe, according to analysis by Visa Europe. For the previous two years, the busiest online shopping day has always been the Monday closest to the start of December and this year it falls on 29 November. In 2009, the peak in online spending occurred on Monday 30 November and in 2008 it was Monday 1 December, according to Visa’s analysis.
Visa Europe is predicting it will handle over 6.6m transactions across Europe during Mega Monday alone or 4,500 every minute. Transactions are forecast to peak in the lunch hour between1pm and 2pm and a second peak is expected around 7pm.
“Shopping online is now a natural part of the gift-buying process for consumers and a key part of Christmas sales strategy for retailers,” said Dr Steve Perry, commercial director, Visa Europe. “The combination of salaries being paid and people taking delivery times into consideration should combine to deliver a record day for internet shopping.”
On the High Street, the last Friday or Saturday before Christmas is usually the busiest shopping day but with Christmas falling on a Saturday this year, Visa Europe predicts the busiest day will be Thursday 23 December.
Joseph Blair
www.HortiTrends.com
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