Christmas shopping spree boosts e-shop sales by a fifth

Between Black Friday and Christmas Eve (which are 30 days apart), shoppers paid for over 1.6 million shopping carts in total (at the e-shops the company provides services for), which is an increase of almost one-fifth (19 per cent) than the volume of online purchases over the previous 30 days.

"Looking at the sales data, the third week of December stands out as the most active shopping period. The number of purchases in the e-shops and service websites we provide services for exceeded €24 million that week. In the same week, 11 December to be precise, the record for this year's December was also achieved – the total number of purchases that day exceeded December’s average by 52 per cent" – says Marijus Plančiūnas, CEO of Paysera.

According to M. Plančiūnas, the intense pace of Christmas shopping slowed down only on the last day before Christmas. "On Christmas Eve, when many people had already bought Christmas presents for themselves and their loved ones, online spending was 61 per cent lower than the day average in the pre-Christmas period" – he adds.

According to Paysera data, shoppers spent an average of €63 per purchase before Christmas, which is slightly higher than the average of €61 recorded in the same period last year. When shoppers chose to pay for purchases in instalments or Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), the value of the shopping basket increased significantly, with the average purchase on credit amounting to €460.

"At the end of the year, we saw slight deflation, and the increase in base interest rates stopped, which is a good sign for retail. These favourable economic trends may have a positive impact on e-commerce volumes at the beginning of the year and somewhat buffer the slowdown that is typical after the intense Christmas period" – predicts M. Plančiūnas.