Today is expected to be a record shopping day online, with sales forecast to reach £370 million, treble a usual day’s rate.

Research from Secure Trading and eDigitalResearch shows that online shopping is at present 106 per cent up on last year. Total sales for the final quarter of 2007 are expected to reach£17.6 billion, an 82 per cent jump from the same period last year.

The IMRG has set its full-year forecasts for online sales at£53.3 billion, a 76 per cent rise on the£30.2 billion taken last year.

IMRG chief executive James Roper said: “As 2007 progressed, e-tail became a perfect storm of proliferation when the confluence of four different internet shopping-related phenomena created ideal growth conditions: availability, functionality, capacity and familiarity.”