Of every £5 spent during November and December last year, £2 was spent online. In December; online shopping increased by a whopping 11.8 per cent. Online shopping was the main driver of retail growth last Christmas.

Statistics show that British families spent an average of £821.25 on festive cheer per household, which was up by 1.3 per cent compared to 2016. Black Friday sales continued to increase due to the participation of more brands. However, it is predominantly an online phenomenon, with figures showing that the most money is spent on the Monday.

With amount spent per household, The UK is followed closely by France, Germany and then Canada. The United States is in a league of their own, almost tripling our average spend.

Last year I decided I would do all my Christmas shopping online, rather than spending hours aimlessly wandering around shops heaving with stressed shoppers making last-minute spontaneous (and expensive) decisions. Let me tell you, it was the smartest decision I’ve ever made. Organising Christmas in my own time, with the trusty aide of a computer (and bank card details) shed hours of time off my shopping schedule compared to the sweaty confides of Oxford Street. I would implore you to adopt the same approach next year (unless you enjoy the crowds of people and terrible headache-inducing festive music).

Shopping online is less stressful, time-saving, easier to research item specifications and (thanks to the likes of Amazon Prime) cheaper on many occasions. It is by far the most convenient way to shop. One hour of exploring the shelves of shops in Central London can be combatted in a few minutes of online shopping. Everything is in one place: The Internet.

Let’s not forget all the deals available online that you can’t find in stores like 20% off your first purchase, or money off when you spend over a certain amount. Quite often a few clicks leads to the discovery of a new and exciting product. And the best part: there are no queues.

The most time you can ‘waste’ online is surfing for the best deal. But, that’s the fun part. It’s rewarding when you find that one place where that one thing will cost less. It makes you feel like a successful present-detective.