And big figures expected for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Online shoppers in the UK are expected to spend a phenomenal �472.5 million on Boxing Day alone.

According to Experian Hitwise and IMRG, visits to UK retail websites will reach 126 million - an increase of 31 per cent on Boxing Day, 2011.

Heavy online spending is also predicted for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with figures at �225m and �307m, respectively.

The stats, revealed on the Econsultancy site (link on the right of this page), also predict that consumers will spend 375 million hours shopping online in December 2012, 32m more than last year.

And figures released by the IMRG Capgemini e-retail sales index have revealed than online spending in November topped �8 billion - the first time this mark has been achieved in one calendar month.