More people to shop online on Christmas Day than go to a church service

So what will you be doing Christmas day? From the London Telegraph.

Some 5.24 million people will log on to shop for bargains over the internet on Christmas Day, according to the online retail trade group IMRG. It calculates that people will spend a total of £104 million, averaging nearly £20 per person.
This compares to an estimated 4.5 million people who attend an Anglican, Catholic, Methodist, Baptist or Pentecostal church service on Christmas Day.

The figures are the most conclusive proof yet that consumers are going to great lengths to track down bargains in the economic downturn. It is also evidence, analysts said, of the increasing power of online retailers over their high street peers.

However, the figures have alarmed senior Church figures, who said Christmas Day should be a day for people to think about their families, not about shopping.

The Rt Rev Stephen Lowe, the Church of England's Bishop for Urban Life and Faith, said: "It does seem to me very sad that at the time when people should be focusing on relationships and family life, they get caught up in the chase for a bargain as if somehow this will bring them greater happiness.

"I would have thought this is at least one day in the year when the focus should be on people, not goods."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/3851370/More-people-to-shop-online-on-Christmas-day-than-go-to-a-church-service.html