Today

Nearly two out of three shoppers will spend more online than on the high street this Christmas, according to a study by web management firm Gomez.

The study also found that people who shop online in the UK are extremely impatient.

Forty per cent of those surveyed said they would only wait for a mere 20 seconds if a website was being slow, before switching to a different site.

This could equal a loss of up to £200 per online shopper throughout the festive season, which, for sites fielding thousands of customers a day - could take away a huge percentage of profit margins.

The older a consumer is, the more patient they become - only 39 per cent of under 35 year olds would wait a minute or more if a website was underperforming before moving on to another site, compared to 47 per cent of over 55s

Women are more likely than men to buy clothes online (17 per cent vs. 25 per cent), the survey discovered.

The older a person becomes, the more likely they are to buy food and drink online, according to the study.

A greater number of men than women will spend more online than on the high-street (63 per cent of men, compared to 58 per cent of women).

The younger a person is, the more they will spend online than on the high-street (64 per cent of under 35s will, compared to 55 per cent of over 55s).

"This research proves the importance of website performance not only to online sales figures, but also to brand reputation," Gomez said in their report.

"This reputation has a long term effect on a brand, as people will spread the news of their bad experiences - creating mass customer flight, resulting in years of lost sales."

The survey also found that people shop online because it's easier and they want to avoid the busy crowds.

However, a quarter of people surveyed shop online simply because it's cheaper.

Men and women are equally likely to shop online, but men tend to splash out and spend more than their female counterparts - 13 per cent of men will spend £400 plus online this Christmas.