Amazon.co.uk predicts busiest Christmas Day to date

Amazon.co.uk has announced that it is expecting its busiest Christmas Day yet. Sales on 25th December have grown by more than six-fold over the past five years. Orders are expected to peak at 8.52pm when many people will be picking up a bargain in the Boxing Day sales.

Christmas Day 2015 is also predicted to be the busiest day ever for digital downloads on Amazon.co.uk. Digital sales on Amazon.co.uk traditionally peak between Christmas Day and 28th December and with Black Friday 2015 setting new records for sales of both Kindle eReaders and Fire tablets, the number of downloads is expected to reach a new high this year.

“Digital streaming and downloads are extremely popular on Christmas Day because of the number of new devices that are given as gifts,” said Jay Marine, Vice President of Amazon Video EU. “The moment that people receive their new device, they want Kindle books to read, apps to play, music to listen to, and movies and TV shows to watch. With more digital content available on Amazon than ever before, we expect Christmas Day to break digital download records.”

Over the festive period, millions of Prime members can stream and download content available at no extra cost to their membership. Prime Video titles available over Christmas include hit shows The Man In The High Castle, Transparent, and MR. ROBOT, all available to stream on hundreds of mobile and living room devices including the bestselling Amazon device, Fire TV Stick. Customers can also download titles to their mobile devices, including Fire tablets, iOS and Android through Prime Video. The latest albums from One Direction, Coldplay and Little Mix are available to stream and download through Prime Music; and more than one million titles are available to borrow through the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. Customers can also download paid apps and games for free in Amazon Underground, with popular titles including Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Monument Valley available with no in-app purchases required.

Christmas Day was the busiest day for downloads of digital products in 2014 on Amazon.co.uk. Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars was the top selling track, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn was the most downloaded Kindle book and X-Men: Days of Future Past was the bestselling title on Amazon Video.

Here are some of the other trends that Amazon.co.uk has historically seen on Christmas Day:

Midnight to 11am: Last minute shopping
During this time, sales on Amazon.co.uk are led by Printable and Email Gift Cards as people pick up last-minute presents. Orders of Gift Cards generally peak at 10am.

12noon: Digital downloads
With the first presents opened and an hour or so before lunch, shoppers head to Amazon.co.uk to purchase Kindle books, MP3s, TV and films, digital video games and apps for their new devices, with the first sales peak of the day at 12.13pm.

Sales of cases for devices, video games, video games accessories, coffee capsules and selfie sticks increase at lunchtime as customers order products to use with their new Christmas gifts. Redemption of Gift Cards also increases at this time.

3pm: The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast
Sales dip around 3pm in time for The Queen’s speech, as the nation stops what they are doing to watch the monarch give her traditional televised address.

7pm onwards: Christmas TV specials
Last year, television screenings of the Mrs Brown’s Boys, Miranda and Downton Abbey Christmas specials prompted soaring DVD sales and Amazon Video streams and downloads of Mrs Brown's Boys D'Movie, Miranda Hart - My, What I Call, Live Show and Downton Abbey: A Moorland Holiday.

9pm: Sofa surfing for the best deals
Last year, Christmas Day sales on Amazon.co.uk peaked at 8.52pm, as customers relaxed after the day’s festivities and made a start on their Boxing Day Deals Week shopping.

“A closer look at the hour by hour trends on 25th December gives us a real insight into how the UK spends Christmas Day - from saving the day with a last minute Gift Card to grabbing a bargain in the sale,” continued Jay Marine. “This year, we’ll be launching Boxing Day Deals Week at 4pm on Christmas Eve and with the sales running until 31st December, there’s plenty of time to get a great deal from the comfort of your sofa.”

Shoppers will be able to snap up millions of pounds of savings as Amazon.co.uk unveils its biggest ever Boxing Day Deals Week sale, running from 4pm on Christmas Eve until 11.59pm on 31st December 2015. More than 5,000 deals will be available, more than three times the number of deals offered last year, with an average of 35% off current Amazon.co.uk prices.

Deals will include ‘Lightning Deals’ – products available at a discount, in limited quantities, for a short period of time – as well as ‘Deals of the Day’ – selected products on offer for one day, from 00.01am to 11.59pm. Amazon Prime members, including customers enjoying a free Amazon Prime 30-day trial, have an exclusive 30-minute early access period to all Lightning Deals.

Amazon.co.uk’s Boxing Day Deals Week includes huge discounts on items from the latest technology to fashion and entertainment. Customers will be able to save money on the award-winning Amazon Fire TV with 4K UHD (available for £64.99, a saving of £15), Fire HD 6 tablet (available for £59.99, a saving of £20), and Fire HD Kids Edition tablets (available for £89.99, a saving of £30), and Kindle Paperwhite (available for £89.99, a saving of £20). The ‘12 Days of Kindle’ sale will make popular eBooks including All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, The Hunger Games (trilogy) by Suzanne Collins, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer, and In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick available from 99p each. Amazon.co.uk will also be offering up to 50% off Fashion including men’s, women’s and children’s clothing, shoes, bags, jewellery and watches.

Source : Amazon.co.uk Press Release
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