Consumers believe that the internet is helping them make more informed purchasing decisions, according to research carried out by marketing group Performics.

In the survey 45 per cent of respondents said they found the best deals online in the past month versus only 34 per cent who found bargains in store.

Generations X and Y led the economic recovery in 2009, as people between the ages of 18 and 44 outspent older consumers.

Michael Kahn, senior vice president of marketing at the organisation, commented: “Consumers have long turned to the internet to check prices and identify the best products to buy and merchants to patronise, but this year’s economic situation pushed this practice front and centre.”

Earlier this week, Interactive Media in Retail Group commented that that the idea of shopping online on Christmas Day is becoming a festive tradition.

The Daily Mail reported that over £100 million was spent on the day last year.

Millions of people in the UK will be logging onto the internet to hunt for bargains on Christmas Day, according to the Daily Mail.

Major high street stores will start their sales, offering huge discounts of up to 70 per cent via the internet in the early hours of December 25th.

The newspaper reported that, last year, Christmas Day was the third biggest online shopping event of the year, with more than £100 million being spent.

A spokesperson from the Interactive Media in Retail Group said that the idea of shopping on Christmas Day is fast becoming as much a part of the festivities as turkey and the trimmings.

“The only way we Brits can enjoy the nation’s favourite leisure activity – shopping – on Christmas Day, our biggest holiday of the year, is online. So it is hardly surprising that millions of us now do a spot of Yuletide bargain hunting,” it added.

Products such as Apple’s iPod Touch and the new Nintendo Wii are expected to be those most in demand by online bargain hunters.

Millions of people in the UK will be logging onto the internet to hunt for bargains on Christmas Day, according to the Daily Mail.

Major high street stores will start their sales, offering huge discounts of up to 70 per cent via the internet in the early hours of December 25th.

The newspaper reported that, last year, Christmas Day was the third biggest online shopping event of the year, with more than £100 million being spent.

A spokesperson from the Interactive Media in Retail Group said that the idea of shopping on Christmas Day is fast becoming as much a part of the festivities as turkey and the trimmings.

“The only way we Brits can enjoy the nation’s favourite leisure activity – shopping – on Christmas Day, our biggest holiday of the year, is online. So it is hardly surprising that millions of us now do a spot of Yuletide bargain hunting,” it added.

Products such as Apple’s iPod Touch and the new Nintendo Wii are expected to be those most in demand by online bargain hunters.