Because shopping online is not limited by store opening hours, more and more Brits are making e-commerce purchases in the early hours of the morning, according to John Lewis.

The retail chain reports that it has seen a 30 per cent rise in the number of sales that it is making from its site between 12pm and 6am, which suggests that consumers in the UK are always hunting for a good deal and using e-commerce services whenever they can find the time.

Popular after-hours purchases include games consoles, toys and products aimed at young children. This seems to be because both gamers and new parents are typically active at this time of day.

As the working day looms large, priorities shift and consumers start to snap up things like children’s footwear and school accessories. This reveals that trends are not just influenced by changing seasons and fashions, but also by the time of day at which people carry out safe shopping online.

The internet has allowed consumers to become much more compulsive than in the past, because a trip to the high street tends to be a much more focused retail experience. When shopping online, however, you can search for whatever product or service has popped into your head at a particular moment, quickly complete a transaction and have it turn up at your door the next day.

John Lewis spokesperson, Andy Street, said that nocturnal shopping was in part being fuelled by the rise of tablet and smartphone ownership, because, of course, it is much easier to use these devices in bed than to pull out a laptop and pop it on the duvet. And with around 25 per cent of those aged over 55 now owning a tablet, all age ranges are capable of capitalising on this.