21 November 2005

Around two-fifths of Christmas shoppers will be ditching the high street this year because of overcrowded shops, reveals a new survey.

According to cahoot, more of us will be heading to the web this year with around 63 per cent believing it is cheaper to shop online.

A third said they were more even likely to hit cyber street this Christmas than last year.

The most impatient shoppers seem to be those aged between 15 and 24 and those above 65 years old.

And male shoppers are leading the way forward with 35 per cent heading for the web this Christmas compared to 26 per cent of women.

"Doing battle on the high street during the traditional Christmas rush is not so much fun and more people are buying online," said John Goddard, managing director of cahoot.

"In a relatively short space of time, online shopping has become part of life for many people regardless of gender, age, socio-economic background or location," he added.

However, there are still some obstacles preventing the Internet becoming the preferred destination for Christmas shoppers, with many saying they still want to see and touch what they are buying.

A further one in twelve also said they wouldn't know how to go about making an online purchase.

© Adfero Ltd

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