A new major day in the UK retail industry’s calendar has been identified by analysts, with Sofa Sunday joining Cyber Monday, as a 24 hour period during which more consumers carry out safe shopping online than at other times of the year.

Sofa Sunday is set to fall on November 30th this year, but unlike other periods of significant online activity, it is expected that m-commerce usage will be through the roof.

The last Sunday in November is a time when people will be really thinking about the Christmas holiday ahead. And because consumers now have access to online shopping services from their smartphones and tablets, they can get much of the work done from the comfort of their living rooms.

Shop Direct spokesperson, Jon Owen, spoke out about Sofa Sunday this week, which is a period that the firm is targeting with a £1 million ad campaign push, to encourage more people to use safe shopping online on November 30th.

Mr Owen said that e-commerce sites could really snatch the reins from high street retailers on Sofa Sunday, tipping the balance in favour of the web to a degree never seen before.

Of course, with more orders being placed online during the next few weeks, there are still many industry observers who are concerned about the extent to which the UK’s delivery infrastructure will be able to cope with the increased load.

For consumers, the ability to keep away from the cold and enjoy access to almost limitless shopping opportunities online, while they are sitting in front of the TV, is a real blessing. The retailers that benefit the most will be those with well optimised websites, that work just as well on smartphones and tablets as they do from a desktop or laptop PC.