Currys, PC World expecting web spike on discount spree

Currys and PC World are expecting a major spike in traffic to their websites from the end of this week due to a 100-hour online price crash offering over £1m of discounts.

From 3pm on November 24 to midnight on November 28, Currys and PC World will offer some "market-beating deals" across a range of products, including iPads, Xbox Kinect and Dr Dre's Beats headphones, along with TVs, computers and other gadgets.

The period covers Black Friday on November 25, the day that is traditionally viewed as the start of the Christmas shopping season after Thanksgiving in the US, and also Cyber Monday, a marketing term introduced in recent years to encourage people to shop online.

Currys and PC World are expecting a 25% spike in visitors to their websites across the 100-hour price promotion as consumers snap up over £1m pounds worth of discounted products.

Last year, the Currys and PC World websites saw a 15% increase in traffic to their sites on Cyber Monday.

The two retailers, owned by the Dixons Retail group, have also produced a 'Wish List' of most desired products after surveying their customers.

Apple's iPad 2 heads the list, followed by the Samsung D8000 smart TV and Mircosoft's Xbox Kinect.

The Kitchen Aid mixer came fourth, followed by a DLSR camera and lens kit, Sony i5 laptop, Dr Dre Beats headphones, Amazon's Kindle and Apple's Macbook air and iPod Touch

Commenting on behalf of Dixons Retail, Anina Castle said: "As part of our peak promotions we have been surveying our customers 'Wish Lists' for Christmas, to ensure that we include some of the products our customers really want to get including the Xbox Kinect , Dr Dre Beats headphones which feature in the top ten."

Also this week, it was reported that Apple's website has become the second-most visited online retail site in the UK, after a massive increase in traffic due to the new iPhone 4S and the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.