- OR ARE WOMEN MAD TO START SHOPPING IN JUNE?

London, 15 December 2000:If you think switching on the Christmas light displays in October is pushing it, think again. In June, while most of the population are sunning themselves on a summer holiday, 6% of us have already started our Christmas shopping.

Consumer research by the UK's leading online retailer, Amazon.co.uk, has revealed that last minute Christmas shopping - causing packed shops and public transport - leaves almost two-thirds of the population feeling less than festive come the big day - and it's all down to men.

Women are keenest to get it started early: a quarter have begun buying presents by September, another quarter begin Christmas shopping in October, and a further third are well on the way to filling their family and friends' stockings by November.

Nearly half of all men (44%) don't even turn their thoughts to Christmas shopping until December and a quarter leave it until the week before Christmas to start thinking about buying presents. And by starting late it's men who are the cause of most of the queues, packed buses and trains in December: half of men don't complete their shopping until Christmas Eve.

Steve Frazier, managing director of Amazon.co.uk said: "For those people who aren't ready to start shopping in June, but can't bear the Christmas crowds, it's still not too late to get your Christmas sorted. Amazon.co.uk will still deliver in time for Christmas even if you order as late as Tuesday 19th December, so there's no excuse! And if the clock's really against you, there are always Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates which you can order in a matter of minutes"

The study was conducted by ICM Research. 1,000 people in households across the UK were interviewed during October 2000.

Notes to editors:
All of our items that are usually dispatched within 24 hours are displaying a Christmas tree. Order items displaying the Christmas tree by December 19, 2000 and we will send these items by Royal Mail first class post on or before the current last Royal Mail postal date of Thursday, December 21, 2000, with the intention that they will be received on or before Saturday December 23, 2000. This applies to deliveries to UK addresses only.

 

For further information contact:

Anna Carter
The RED Consultancy
T: 020 7465 7751
E:annac@redconsultancy.com

Andy Stafford
Amazon.co.uk
T: 020 8636 9572
E:astaff@amazon.co.uk

 

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For further information please contact the Amazon.co.uk press office on 0208 636 9280

About Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.co.uk today offers more than 2 million books, CDs, DVDs, software titles, pc & video games and videos, hosts online auctions and provides a complete online storefront for individual merchants through its zShops. Amazon.co.uk customers enjoy the benefits of industry-leading, online shopping technology such as secure credit-card payment; personalised recommendations; streamlined, 1-Click. ordering and hassle-free Bid-Click auction bidding. Through Amazon Anywhere, Amazon.co.uk also is available on mobile phones with WAP technology; look at www.amazon.co.uk/anywhere for details.

Amazon.co.uk is the trading name for Amazon.com Int'l Sales, Inc., and Amazon.com International Auctions, Inc., which are both wholly owned subsidiaries of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), the Internet's No. 1 book, No. 1 music and No. 1 video retailer, which opened its virtual doors on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and has already provided safe and convenient shopping to more than 23 million customers worldwide.