Christmas shoppers are turning to the internet to get their presents as spending on the high street slows — and canny consumers can net excellent bargains.

“E-tailers” are expecting a 15% rise in turnover compared with last year, with consumers spending a total of £13.2 billion, or £215 each, online in the final quarter of the year.

Christmas spending is expected to peak on December 8 — three weeks from now — says industry body IMRG, with an estimated £320m likely to be spent on the internet during that day.

Here are our five steps to savvy shopping.

Start early

Must-have Christmas presents are likely to go up in price as the big day gets nearer — so buying early can save you a pretty penny.

Star Wars trooper helmets by Hasbro are among this year’s “big 12” toys as is Upsy Daisy and Her Chase n Play Bed from In The Night Garden, according to the Toy Retailers Association — and the shops could well raise prices as stocks get low.

The Nintendo Wii games console is likely to suffer the same fate.

“You will do well to get a Nintendo Wii or Wii Fit for the recommended retail price or less,” said Bruce Fair, managing director at the shopping aggregator kelkoo.co.uk .

“The recommended retail price is £179.99, but last year it was inflated to £300 and the Wii Fit has been up as high as 300% of recommended retail price when stock is exhausted.”

Compare prices

So-called shopbots, such as Kelkoo, pricerunner.co.uk and smartshopping.co.uk , will trawl the web to hunt down the best online prices.