"Tesco on one hand and internet retailers on the other will take the majority of retail growth and the High Street is going to be squeezed in between the two," warned Richard Perks, director of retail research at Mintel.
“This is also going to be the first Christmas where Auction sites, particularly eBay, have a noticeable impact,” he added.
In 2001, only 22% of shoppers said that they would buy at least one gift online, but this year two out of five UK consumers will do some Christmas shopping online.
The telephone survey of 1,000 UK adults also reveals that 15% of people now prefer to do their Christmas shopping online, up from 10% last year.
"There has been an impressive increase in the number of households with broadband, which has made shopping on-line a lot easier and so for many a much more appealing way to buy Christmas gifts than heading to the High Street,” explained Parks. “These broadband users also tend to be younger and more affluent and as such are likely to really push the boat out, giving on-line retailers even more to shout about this Christmas.”
The survey reveals that on average, shoppers will spend £366 on presents in the run up to Christmas, with 19% likely to spend £500 or more, rising to 30% amongst the 25 - 34 year olds and those living in the North West of England.
Predicted top sellers this year are DVDs, videos, music, software and electrical goods.
