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Online retailers have received a hearty slug of Christmas cheer with the news that web-based sales are expected to increase by £1.5 billion in the festive run-up. Research from IMRB predicts that shoppers, unwilling to brave the particularly frosty high street pavements this winter, will prefer to peruse prospective presents from the comfort of their home computers.

Accountant Deloitte agrees, estimating a 50 per cent increase in the use of the internet for the Christmas shopping, with the principal reasons for choosing particular sites being convenience, value for money and price.

Nevertheless, Deloitte believes consumers will tighten their purse strings and overall spending will fall by £400 million to £14.7 billion, from last year’s predicted gift spend of £15.1 billion. It calculates the average amount spent on gifts per person will be £310. The Welsh will apparently be most generous and will part with an average of £359, compared to the famously frugal folk in Yorkshire, who are predicted to tighten their belts by 26 per cent and spend £276.

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