December’s strongest ecommerce trading landed in the first four days of the month, with daily volumes running between 129% and 160% of the monthly average, according to data from commerce integration platform, Patchworks.

While performance remained relatively consistent across December, the concentration of peak activity between 01 and 04 December highlighted the front-loading of festive demand, with ecommerce remaining active even on days traditionally considered quieter.

Commenting on the data, Jim Herbert, CEO of Patchworks, said: “Peak trading no longer happens on a single, predictable day. What we’re seeing is demand arriving earlier, staying higher for longer, and continuing even on days that were once considered operational downtime.”

Christmas Day activity reached around 70% of the monthly daily average, reinforcing the reality of always-on ecommerce and the need for resilient systems throughout the festive period. However, traditional festive benchmarks underperformed expectations. Boxing Day, long viewed as a critical retail moment, ran -21.6% below the monthly daily average.

The data underlines a shift in festive trading dynamics, with Herbert noting that success now depends on being ready earlier in December and maintaining operational resilience across the entire holiday period.

“For retailers, this changes how they need to think about preparedness. The pressure on integrations and systems is front-loaded and persistent, not confined to a few headline dates,” Herbert added.