Is virtual shopping taking over in Ireland?

Are the days of physical shopping reaching an end in Ireland? Will our retail parks turn into bland warehouses from which the stuff you order on the internet is dispatched? Will window shopping literally become just that where you view goods and go home and order them on the net?

Sunday December 6th 2009 is to be Ireland’s ‘Cyber Sunday’ the biggest day for online Christmas shopping. Irish online advertising consultants OnlineAdvertising.ie have been enabling Irish websites to maximise online enquiries and sales for the past 2 years. has been closely monitoring internet shopping market here in Ireland for the past 2 years. Based on recent research, the company forecasts that this year, the first Sunday in December (December 6th) will be Ireland’s busiest online shopping day.

After studying Google trends data from the last 4 years, OnlineAdvertising.ie have found that every year the first Sunday in December is emphatically the most popular day for the shoppers of Ireland to ‘splash the cash’ online. By whipping out the credit card on December 6th, online shoppers are also leaving themselves plenty of time to ensure delivery of their Christmas shopping.

Data has shown however that some are not content with 3 weeks delivery time with the last Sunday in November proving to be the second most popular day for online Christmas shopping.

Alan Coleman, founder and director of OnlineAdvertising.ie says Irish shoppers are getting themselves more informed when it comes to buying online. “According to the search engine Google, Ireland is currently ranked 10th in the world when it comes to shopping online and these shoppers have really done their research before they splurge! 50% of Irish consumers now research their item online before they purchase.”

“This is the case, he added, “not just for internet shopping but even in the case of offline or high-street purchases. This is illustrated by the rise of Christmas gift searches in search engines. From search engine data we can see that consumers start researching Christmas gifts online in late October - this searching then peaks in the week between the 11th and 18th of December.”

Alan went on to remind online traders that time is of the essence. “All this data serves as a stark reminder to online traders to have their sites in order for Christmas asap. Online shoppers will be on the prowl from next week on!”

It is not only the online traders that need to be vigilant, methinks! The high street traders, already battered by the credit crunch, are now being assaulted from cyberspace and there is very little they can do about it.

Online conservatory supplier, Conservatory Ireland, www.conservatoryireland.com has seen a huge increase in enquiries in the last six months at a time when the market is stagnant for such services.

Kitchens Ireland, www.kitchensireland.com reports a similar increase in traffic whilst another leading Irish consumer site, Bathrooms Ireland, www.bathroomsireland.com says it has never been busier despite the awful prevailing economic climate.
It seems to me that Irish people are now staying at home and shopping from there via the internet instead of enduring traffic snarl-ups, car parking fees and the general hassle of actually sourcing items in the traditional manner.

The whole tradition of retailing in under threat in Ireland and elsewhere. It will be interesting to see what Christmas brings.