26/11/2010
Businesses selling online should prepare themselves for 'Manic Monday' next week, when a total of 537m is predicted to be spent on the busiest internet shopping day of the year.
As reported by MSN Money, the amount that will be spent on Monday November 29th is forecast to hit 22.4m each hour.
The figures come from shopping comparison website Kelkoo, which predicts that online sales will increase by almost a third (29 per cent) compared with last year.
"This is the most important day in an e-tailers' calendar," said Richard Stables, chief executive of Kelkoo. "Online retailers can see sales rise by up to 60 per cent in the six weeks running up to Christmas compared to the rest of the year, and at no time is this more evident that on Manic Monday, when online sales are forecast to peak at 22.4m per hour."
The research was carried out by the Centre for Retail Research, which surveyed over 50 major retailers and discovered that online Christmas sales are expected to jump by 2.6bn this year alone.
With just a short time until 'Manic Monday', there is still time for suppliers to ensure their retail clients have sufficient stock for demand. This day comes just once a year in the retail calendar, so it would be a shame to miss out on so much business because of a little cash flow problem.
Thankfully, for any business with restricted cash flow, there are quick financing methods, such as sales finance, which can give a business a fast injection of cash. This would allow the company to get all hands on deck this weekend, send as much stock out to retailers as possible and make the most of the increase in sales.
Laura Nineham