The increase in deliveries reflects a predicted online shopping boom this festive season, with an average of £4 million being spent across the country every hour in the run up to Christmas.

Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) predicts that £7 billion will be spent online in the ten weeks leading up to Christmas day. This represents a record 40% increase on the £5 billion spent online in the same period in 2005.

Royal Mail’s head of multi-channel retail, Catherine Campbell, said: “The traditional catalogue has seen an evolution with the emergence of the Internet. Retailers are increasingly using catalogues and brochures to encourage people to buy from them online. In fact, 61% of UK consumers now consult catalogues before making online purchases.”

According to IMRG chief executive James Roper, more than half of the UK population will buy some goods online this Christmas, and some will buy their Christmas presents exclusively on the Internet