Online retailers enjoy Boxing Day sales boost

Boxing Day was the busiest day in terms of traffic for online retailers over Christmas as shoppers saved the little money they had for the sales.

According to internet search data company Hitwise, traffic to retail sites leapt 22 percent between 25 December and 26 December 2008. However, Boxing Day volumes were down 4.9 percent compared to the same day in 2007.

The rise in traffic this year was driven by consumers' hunt for post-Christmas bargains, with variants of 'Boxing Day sale' being one of the more popular search terms of the day and no frills supermarket Aldi seeing a 78 percent rise in traffic between this Boxing Day and Boxing Day 2007.

eBay was the most popular retail site in terms of Boxing Day visits, with a 10.5 percent share of UK traffic — suggesting a lot of online activity centred around selling unwanted gifts.

Clothing and accessories also proved popular on Boxing Day, with a 22 percent traffic growth year on year, while groceries and alcohol notched up nearly 19 percent.