A new survey published by the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) suggests that Irish consumers will spend about €55m on Christmas internet purchases.
According to the data in ComReg's latest Trends Survey one in five internet users, or 250,000 people, plan to use the internet for Christmas shopping this year.
Men and those with a broadband connection are more likely than women and those with dial-up connections to do their Christmas shopping online.
Online shoppers plan to spend an average of over €200 on their Christmas purchases.
The survey also found that in the past three months 43 per cent of internet users have shopped online with an average spend of over €300. The most popular online purchases were airline tickets (57 per cent) concert tickets (23 per cent) and music (20 per cent).
The survey of over 1,000 people aged between15 and 74 was carried out by Amárach Consulting on behalf of ComReg.
Separately Irish headquartered payments software firm, Trintech, has launched a campaign to raise awareness of the potential risks retailers face when processing online payments this Christmas.
With around £4 billion sterling card payment transactions expected to take place over the Internet this Christmas, and Internet card crime already amounting to £58 million on UK-issued cards over a six month period, Trintech is warning that the figures could rise unless retailers step up the security of online shopping environments.