The figures from retail researcher IMR would represent a 12 per cent increase on the same two days in 2010 as online sales continue to rise in the winter months.

This Christmas has seen another substantial growth in home delivery.

Delivery house NetDespatch internet servers have been accessed up to 20 million times an hour in the run up to Christmas.

NetDespatch, whose online software helps dispatch parcels for 50,000 retailers, reports a 50 per cent increase in online traffic compared with the same two weeks before Christmas last year.

David Smith, chief marketing & communications officer at IMR says: ‘The amount of money consumers spend online every Christmas Day is continuing to show growth.

‘Although shopping on Christmas Day might not appear to quite be in the Christmas spirit, it is worth considering that many of these sales could actually be associated with popular gifts people have received, such as downloadable content for MP3 players and Kindles.’