New data has highlighted that Christmas Day has become a “meaningful” trading day.

The data, published by commerce agency Visualsoft, showcases that festive spending is no longer just focused on Boxing Day, with strong sales reported on Christmas Eve through to 28 December.

It reported that Christmas Eve saw an uplift in sales for higher value categories, jewellery and watches saw a 63% increase in revenue and health and beauty recorded a 65% increase.

According to the agency, revenue for food and drink increased by 116% when compared to Christmas Day last year, and fashion and footwear revenue rose by 50%.

On Boxing Day, the hobbies category reported its strongest performance, with revenue up 103% year-on-year.

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Chris Fletcher, CEO of Visualsoft said: “The data points to a clear shift in festive shopping behaviour. Consumers are starting earlier, staying active for longer, and using Christmas Day itself to browse and buy.

“For retailers, this reinforces the importance of treating the entire period from Christmas Eve through to the end of December as a sustained sales window, rather than relying on a single post-Christmas spike.”

Visualsoft highlighted that fashion and footwear recorded its highest revenue day on 28 December, with sales rising 76%. It also showed that revenue for food and drink was up 104% compared to the same day last year.

In the whole of December, jewellery and watches saw the strongest growth when compared to the rest of the year, with average monthly revenue more than doubling for the month.