Cyber Monday: UK to spend £300m on online deals

Shoppers in the UK are expected to spend around £300 million online today as part of Cyber Monday. Today will be the busiest 24-hour period for Internet shopping. Those who are expected to shop online in the highest numbers are office workers, as they rush to pick up a bargain for Christmas.

According to Telegraph, analysts have predicted that shoppers will spend more today than they have done in some time, as they have been feeling the pinch due to the recession. Visa has also said that they expect this to be a very busy day for shopping on the Internet.

Cyber Monday normally falls on the first Monday in December and is usually the busiest online shopping day of the year, but it is a little earlier this year. Many workers have already received their last paycheck before Christmas; so will be spending the day looking for a bargain.

Out of the £300 million expected to be spent in the UK today, Visa predicts that £175 million of that will be from their cardholders. Black Friday was seen as a huge success and that success is set to continue today, but on a much larger scale online.

Many websites have already reported heavy demand on its servers, with many slowing or crashing altogether. Dell have a message on their website warning that things are very slow as they are experiencing high demand.

Are you online today getting yourself some early Christmas presents?