Royal Mail has revealed the top 10 areas where shoppers made the most online purchases over the course of Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2019.

Those in Central London top the list of the UK’s most prolific shoppers in the biggest cyber shopping event of the year. This is followed by Kirkwall, Lerwick and Llandrindod Wells.

Top 10 UK hotspots

1. Central London
2. Kirkwall
3. Lerwick, Shetland
4. Llandrindod Wells
5. Inverness
6. Dumfries
7. Carlisle
8. North West London
9. Shrewsbury
10. Galashiels

Black Friday is now widely regarded as the start of the Christmas shopping season in the UK. According to recent research by Royal Mail, almost half of festive shoppers do most or all of their shopping online; with UK festive online shopping spend up 11% YOY.

Home comforts, the ability to shop at any time of the day and ease of comparing prices are all factors driving the trend.

The top 10 online shopping hotspots are based on the analysis of parcels accepted into the Royal Mail network between 26 November and 3 December.

Items were accepted from online retailers and ecommerce businesses for delivery via the Royal Mail Tracked 24 and Royal Mail Tracked 48 services.

Online purchases made on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and beyond will continue to be distributed by retailers and delivered by Royal Mail over the coming days.

In December 2018, Royal Mail handled 164 million parcels, up 10% compared with the year before.

Commenting is a spokesperson for Royal Mail. “We have looked at parcel delivery data across our network of delivery offices and this has revealed that Central London is the UK’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday online shopping hotspot for 2019.

“The data shows that parcel delivery at Christmas is just as important for our rural customers as it is for our city customers. We take the planning for the festive period very seriously and start preparing for the next year the moment the current one is over.”