Families in the North have relied on the internet more than ever to stock up on food and gifts for Christmas this year.

Supermarkets have reported the busiest ever year for their online websites, with delivery slots booked up weeks in advance.

Some stores have reported more than double last year's numbers choosing to order stock via their computers during December.

And retailers offering online gift shopping have also registered massive increases in customers shopping via the web.

According to Newcastle-based Perfiliate Technologies, which helps charities make money from online shopping, 40pc of people will have made at least one purchase online this Christmas, online buying is up 18pc from last year and the average buy per person is up from £82 to £140 compared to 2003.

A Tesco spokeswoman said: "Last December we did as much business over the internet in December as we had done in the whole of 1998. This year will be even bigger.

"People started booking delivery slots for Christmas at the beginning of December and now they will be very few and far between.

Across the country, we're doing a delivery every two seconds.

We've seen a massive growth this year in non-food items over the internet.

A lot of people who travel to relatives for Christmas have decided it's easier to just get the presents delivered there rather than take them up themselves, so there's been a lot of CDs and DVDs bought online."

A spokesman for Asda added: "Uptake has doubled at Asda this year compared to last with more and more customers trying the service for the first time."

Last year, £2.5bn worth of Christmas shopping was done online, and it is expected that will be eclipsed in 2004.

George Cowcher, chief executive of the North-East Chamber of Commerce, said yesterday: "From speaking to our members this year, there is a significant growth in online shopping and we're expecting that to increase year on year.

"Savvy retailers are realising that they need to offer goods both ways, but the internet will never be a death knell for retail outlets.

Some people aren't electronically enabled and some aren't comfortable shopping that way, so there will always be people who want to go out and buy in the traditional way."

Financial services firm Deloitte and Touche is predicting 32pc of shoppers will make purchases over the internet this year, up from 29pc last year, and says a further 40pc use websites to research products or compare prices, the company found.

Norma Foster, general manager of n-e-lilfe.com, which hosts a dedicated North-East shopping site, said many people were shopping online to avoid getting into too much debt.

"You are less likely to be tempted by a pretty shop window and will be left with more time to enjoy the important things in life like family and friends."

Hassle-free gift shopping for family

With a family of 12 to buy for, Chris and Gill Tradgett say they have taken the hassle out of Christmas this year by buying everything online.

Chris, sales and marketing manager at Newcastle-based Perfiliate Technologies, which helps charities raise money on the web, said yesterday his buying habits had mirrored that of his customers over the past two or three years.

"Last year, it was 50/50," he said. "I bought around half online and half on the high street. This year, I've bought everything online and it's been so much easier.

"If we were to buy everything in the shops, Gill and I would have to drive from our home in Monkseaton, find somewhere to park the car, pay for parking, pay for petrol, carry bags of presents back and then pay for postage to our relatives.

"This way, we sat down one Sunday night and more or less got everything from our living room. Our friends and relatives are dotted around the country, so to be able to buy something, get that wrapped up in Christmas packaging and delivered straight to their door is great."

Chris, 47, and Gill, who is an occupational therapist at Percy Hedley School in Forest Hall, Newcastle, have bought books, DVDs, CDs and food over the internet, including presents for their two children James, 15, and Clare, 12.

Perfiliate has been running for around four years and works by setting up a "shop" website for a charity.

The websites link to retailers' online sales pages. Every time a purchase is made by a customer, the retailer pays a commission to Perfiliate, 80pc of which goes to charity.

"This year has been our best every for Christmas shopping online," said Chris. "Depending on the retailer we've had somewhere between a 4pc and 15pc increase."

taken from icnewcastle