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Nearly 30 million Christmas shoppers will turn to the Internet this year
Archived article dated Wednesday December 3rd 2008
New research commissioned by Ivobank has revealed 25.17 million people, or 81 per cent of the UK's online population, confirmed that they purchase goods online because they can shop anytime of the day or night.
Although a close second, price isn't the key driver for online shopping.When asked how many Christmas gifts they would buy online this year, 88 per cent (29.09 million people) confirmed they plan to buy at least one Christmas gift online. Added to this, more than a quarter of respondents stated they were planning to buy 11 or more gifts online.
UK online adult males stated that the main reason why they would purchase goods online rather than from a physical shop is to get cheaper products, whereas women confirmed that being able to shop online anytime of the day or night was their main driver.
“Convenience coming in ahead of lower prices is a particularly interesting find, given the current economic outlook and the credit crunch,” said Martin Peterlechner, Director of Commercial Development at Ivobank.
Mr Peterlechner said that internet retailers need to be prepared for the online shopping scramble: “The fact that so many people throughout the UK are planning to buy at least one if not all of their Christmas gifts online this Christmas represents a huge opportunity for UK online retailers.
“Offering reductions or low-cost products on your site are all well and good, but if people cannot access the required products on a retailer's site when it's convenient for them, the retailer won't be able to take advantage of the festive retail rush.”
The group most likely to buy at least one gift online this Christmas is 18-24 yr olds.
The research showed that the fear of never receiving the goods is the biggest concern faced by online shoppers, followed by security fears and the risk of becoming the victim of online fraud when buying from a website they have never used before.
With the growth in online fraud, Mr Peterlechner highlighted the importance of being vigilant when shopping online.
“The personal computer at home is more often than not the safest option for online shopping, as consumers know what security software and firewall protection they have implemented,” Mr Peterlechner said. “We would advise consumers to just take that bit more care when shopping online at a public PC, for example in an internet café.”
According to GfK NOP, the UK now boasts 33 million online adults (16+), which accounts for 68 per cent of the UK's 48.61 million adult population.
Tagged as: online shopping | etail | etailing
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