Internet Changes Everything

UK matches US online shopping fervour

UK matches US online shopping fervour - Yahoo! UK & Ireland News

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The number of British consumers buying holiday gifts online this year will more than double, matching U.S. habits, as high-speed Internet use rises and despite increased Internet fraud, a new survey suggests.

Online fraud prevention firm Retail Decisions is set to release on Friday a study which shows 43 percent of UK customers plan to shop online this year versus 46 percent in the United States. Last year, 21 percent of British consumers and 31 percent of U.S. shoppers made purchases online.

"Traditional retailers need to make sure they have a very good online strategy because online shopping is here to stay," Carl Clump, chief executive of Retail Decisions, told Reuters.

"The study indicates that shopping on the Internet is causing some convergence in global terms, and that's why we're seeing very similar behaviour by U.S. consumers and UK consumers," he said.

The most-favoured Internet purchases on both sides of the Atlantic included travel tickets, hotel arrangements, books and music discs, while the speed of completing transactions and delivery was key to maintaining the momentum of Web shopping.

UK customers are still more likely than their American counterparts to order goods over the phone, through mail orders and via interactive television this holiday season, the survey showed.

In all, 57 percent of British consumers and 60 percent of U.S. customers surveyed said they found nothing negative in buying goods online. At the same time, Retail Decisions said it expected a 46 percent rise in potentially suspicious transactions online from a year earlier.

Internet fraud could also increase dramatically in the UK next year as "chip and pin" cards are implemented for in-store purchases, making it harder for criminals to target traditional store shoppers, Retail Decisions said.

Retail Decisions polled 1,000 adults on December 3.

December 16, 2004 at 10:59 PM in eCommerce | Permalink | TrackBack (11) | Top of page | Blog Home