Hi °C | Lo °C Shoppers across Ulster were today waiting nervously to see if presents ordered online will arrive in time for Christmas.
Fears that festive presents won't be under the tree on time were sparked after complaints about online deliveries jumped across the UK by a third in the run-up to Christmas, according to a government advice service.
Thousands of complaints have been received by Consumer Direct in the last six weeks.
According to Royal Mail the "vast bulk" of Christmas post will arrive on time.
And a spokesman for Amazon said its delivery success rate is above 99%.
"Whilst it is unfortunate to hear of specific examples of people disappointed it has been an overwhelming success overall," the spokesman said.
However, there are concerns some families will be left without their Christmas presents tomorrow.
One online shopper, Claire Smyth (23) from south Belfast, is worried she won't receive her order on time.
"I ordered a glass chess board as a present last Wednesday from shop.com and was told via email the next day it had been dispatched," she said.
"They said it would arrive no more than three days later.
" It hasn't arrived yet, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will arrive in time.
"I will be disappointed if I don't have a present to give on Christmas Day."
According to the Northern Ireland Consumer Council the public is entitled to a full refund if the goods do not arrive on time.
Ordered goods must be delivered within 30 days, unless otherwise agreed, and if this does not happen the consumer must be refunded within 30 days.
South Belfast Sinn Fein MLA Alex Maskey said the standard of the service should be re-examined.
"It will be a big disappointment for families who have been expecting presents to arrive from online shopping in time for Christmas," he said.
"Online shopping used to be a bit of a phenomenon in the past but now has become a common practice.
"I think the postal service and companies involved in selling products need to get up to scratch with their service to avoid such problems in the future."
Across the UK 27 million online shoppers are expected to have splashed £15bn through the web in the run-up to Christmas Day.
This has jumped by 60% in the last year, according to Interactive Media and Retail Group (IMRG), the industry body for the electronic retail community. Amazon said it has been dispatching 750,000 parcels a day.
Royal Mail has estimated it will deliver 120 million items ordered over the internet this festive season.
