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Amazon.co.uk set for its busiest Christmas Day

22nd December 2014 Print

Amazon.co.uk has announced that it is expecting its busiest Christmas Day yet, having seen sales on 25th December grow by more than fivefold over the past five years. Orders are expected to peak at 12.26pm when many people will be downloading books, movies, TV shows and music to newly received digital devices like Kindle e-readers and Fire tablets.

Christmas Day was the busiest day for sales of Kindle books, apps, digital music and digital video games in 2013 on Amazon.co.uk, with X Factor winner Sam Bailey’s Skyscraper being the top selling track, One Direction’s Midnight Memories the most downloaded album and Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding the most downloaded Kindle book.

Christmas Day 2014 is predicted to be the busiest day ever for digital sales on Amazon.co.uk. Amazon.co.uk has expanded its range of digital categories with the launch, earlier this year, of digital films and TV shows available to rent and buy through Amazon Instant Video.

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

Midnight to 11am: Last minute shopping 

During this period, sales on Amazon.co.uk are dominated by Printable and Email Gift Cards as people log on to pick up last minute presents. Gift Card orders 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, movies, TV shows and MP3 products for their new devices, with the day’s sales set to peak at 12.26pm.

Sales of cases for devices, video games, video games accessories and even coffee capsules 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 Downton Abbey Christmas Special, the premiere of Toy Story 3, Doctor Who and Mrs Brown’s Boys prompted soaring DVD sales of Downton Abbey: The London Season, The Complete Toy Story Collection, Doctor Who - The Time of the Doctor & Other Eleventh Doctor Christmas Specials and Mrs Brown's Boys Live Tour: Mrs Brown Rides Again.

9pm: Sofa sales surfing 

Christmas Day sales on Amazon.co.uk traditionally peak again at 9.02pm, as customers relax after the day’s festivities and get an early start on their Boxing Day Deals Week shopping.

“The trends that emerge hour by hour on 25th December give us a fascinating insight into how the UK spends Christmas Day - from saving the day with a last minute Gift Card to downloading eBooks on a new Kindle and shopping the sale,” said Xavier Garambois, Vice President of EU Retail at Amazon. “This year we’ll be launching Boxing Day Deals Week at 4pm on Christmas Day and with the sales running all week, there’s plenty of time to grab a bargain from the comfort of your sofa.”

“Christmas Day is our biggest day of the year for downloads of books, apps, music, films and TV shows as people look to enjoy the new devices they have received on Christmas morning,” said Christopher North, Managing Director at Amazon.co.uk Ltd. “By the evening, customers are ready to get a head start on their sales shopping with everything from homeware to fashion to big ticket technology proving popular.”

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. Over 1,600 offers will be available, hundreds more than last year, with an average of 35% off current Amazon.co.uk prices. Deals will include clearance offers, digital deals and ‘Lightning Deals’ – limited quantity, limited time deals.

Running from 4pm on Christmas Day until 11.30pm on 31st December 2014, 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 Kindle Fire HDX tablets and Amazon’s bestselling Fire TV, while a selection of popular Kindle books will be available for just £0.99 each.

Boxing Day is also expected to be one of Prime Instant Video’s biggest streaming days when the series finale of the critically acclaimed Ripper Street Series 3 is released exclusively for Prime members in the UK.