A survey carried out by Shutl has found that around five per cent of consumers in the UK have called in sick, in order to stay at home and take delivery of items they ordered online.

This suggests that the cost of e-commerce related 'sick' days to the British economy could be over £192 million each year. This is why many experts argue that retailers need to do more to improve the range of delivery options that are available, so that the setup is more convenient for shoppers and employers alike.

A quarter of those questioned said that one of the problems they face when ordering online is that the companies they work for will not allow them to get the items delivered to their office during working hours. So, in many instances, employers are partly to blame for the time off that people take.

There are improvements being made in this area, with companies like Amazon now delivering to places like train stations, corner shops and other convenient locations, from which customers can collect their items at any time. But many people still find it easiest to stay at home on the day of a delivery so that they get unfettered access to any product they ordered via safe shopping online, as soon as possible.

Thirty per cent of respondents said that they will be buying more items from e-commerce sites this Christmas than they did in 2014, with 40 per cent agreeing that the festive retail period was a necessary evil that had to be endured in order to make the big day special.

No doubt Black Friday and Cyber Monday caused a spike in subsequent sick days being taken by people who ordered online and wanted to make sure they were around for the delivery.