WE MAY only just be in the month of Christmas, but battle-weary consumers could be forgiven for thinking December dawned a while ago.
Retailers have been trying very hard to part us from our cash with relentless TV advertising during recent weeks.

Shops need to make the most of what is traditionally their busiest trading period because many have had a slow or sluggish year.

Sometimes it’s hard to square the somewhat pessimistic views expressed by retail analysts with the evidence of your own ears and eyes when our shops are as busy as ever with people apparently spending rather than merely browsing.

Crowds flocking to city centre and out-of-town retail parks tell their own story about the prevailing economic conditions, as do the traffic delays and jams they create around places like Liverpool One and Cheshire Oaks.

That’s the evidence of retail activity we can see and get a feel for. We can’t see people logging on to shop online. And this is part of the retail sector where there has been phenomenal growth, according to specialists representing e-retailers.

Government statistics show the number of UK online shoppers in 2008 was more than 26m. The average online spend in the same year was an impressive £1,502. Others with a vested interest are also researching the way we shop, or, to be more precise, changes to the way we shop.

For example, when it’s working properly, Royal Mail says 62% of UK adults now shop from home and 98% of UK consumers are “highly satisfied” with online shopping.

Wonder if that staggeringly high figure reflects satisfaction with delivery services? During the last round of Royal Mail industrial action, more major online sellers switched to other carriers, so it probably does.

We should stand by for another set of online statistics before Christmas – numbers that will once again underline the extent to which our shopping habits are changing.  Last Sunday, as queues formed for car parking spaces in our retail hot-spots, more people than ever before were expected to be shopping on line. E-retailers dubbed the day Cyber Sunday as they eagerly anticipated record transactions.

We shall see when they publish their numbers.

What’s clear for now, though, is that the internet is continuing to offer consumers levels of choice and service they find appealing. Without the need to find and pay for a car parking space.