More than 11 million Britons are now shopping online at least twice a week, according to new research, with clothing, books, CDs and DVDs among the most popular favourite items.
The nationwide study of Britain's online shopping habits by price comparison site Shopzilla.co.uk also shows that the proportion of British shopper online outstrips that of the US with around nine out of 10 UK consumers shopping online at least once a month compared with around seven out of 10 Americans.
The poll of more than 3,000 Brits found that being able to shop any time of the day or night, price and convenience are the biggest motivations for shopping online.
When scoring satisfaction from one to 10, 79% of shoppers give the online experience eight out of 10 or above, compared to just 27% for high street stores. Satisfaction with the customer service offered by online retailers is also significantly higher - 55% of shoppers give internet stores eight out of 10 or better compared with only 28% for their bricks and mortar counterparts.
However, there are still certain goods that consumers are reluctant to buy online. More than half (54.7%) would still not consider buying a car online, while musical instruments and food and drink are still no go areas for three out of 10 and two out of 10 consumers respectively.
Meanwhile, the credit crunch looks set to trigger an even bigger stampede towards online shopping. More than half of shoppers polled said they were now more likely to hunt for a range of items online in a bid to save money.
Scott Macon, managing director for Shopzilla Europe, said: 'This survey shows that Britons are among the world's keenest online shoppers and that they are becoming more and more sophisticated.'
Source: Gemma Charles, Marketing
Brand Republic, Digital
Date: 08-Oct-08, 11:55