ONLINE shoppers lived up to the hype surrounding Cyber Monday yesterday, sending sales at Oxfordshire’s retailers soaring.

Boswell’s department store in Broad Street, Oxford, said online trading was 50 per cent up, with Lego and Hornby train sets proving most popular.

Frank Smith, Boswell’s head of retail operations, said: “We expected sales to increase but it’s double on what we thought. A lot of people been paid their wages, it’s December and they’re starting to think about what to buy for Christmas.”

Cyber Monday is the first Monday in December, when customers start ordering supplies and gifts online, in plenty of time for Christmas.

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Boswell’s, which launched its online shop in July, says orders are coming from all over the UK and Europe but many local customers are choosing to click and collect, rather than delivery.

Other products which flew off the shelves yesterday included kitchen gadgets and luggage.

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Frank Smith

Mr Smith added: “People are thinking about food preparation for Christmas, so baking products and food mixers have been selling well.

“We’re also seeing very strong uptake of luggage, which we think is down to people going on winter cruises, premium toiletries and cosmetics.”

Oxfam said sales through its online shop were 70 per cent higher on Cyber Monday, compared to the same day last week.

Biggest sellers were jewellery and women’s accessories, which saw sales jump 200 per cent.

Spokeswoman Georgia Best said: “Other popular cyber purchases are vintage women’s coats and dresses.”

Another bonus from Cyber Monday is that donations to Oxfam’s Ebola Crisis Appeal have rocketed.

Ms Best added: “Donations to our Ebola Crisis Appeal when people check out of the online shop were also up 25 per cent, which is fantastic.”

There was chaos on the roads around Bicester Village on Friday as bargain hunters made a beeline for the designer shopping outlet Bicester Village on so-called Black Friday, which has become a major UK shopping day.

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