Older consumers love online shopping

31 January 2012 - 09:22

While shopping online is usually seen as a pastime of the under 30s, the latest statistics show that this is something of a misconception.

A study published by Basekit.com, indicates that a third of all e-commerce transactions are carried out by the over 55s, who also spend larger sums each time they shop using the web.

Amongst a younger age group of 25 to 34 year olds, it was discovered that 12 per cent claim they never harness safe shopping online. In fact this bracket of consumers was found to be the least active in the e-commerce market than any other.

The high street is still a popular location for UK consumers' retail needs, although the stress of pushing through the crowds and queuing at the checkouts is actually causing people to spend less time out and about than shopping on the web.

While the typical consumer will spend almost two and a half hours browsing e-commerce sites each week, the same person might spend just 1.2 hours at bricks and mortar stores. The convenience and ease of online shopping is clearly having an impact in this area.

While e-commerce is growing in popularity, the average amount spent over a monthly period is still higher on the high street than it is online.

Around £126 a month will be spent at high street retail outlets by UK consumers, compared to around £116 online. The gap between the two is clearly closing, but it does suggest that e-commerce users spend more time browsing than actually parting with cash.

The report's publishers said that they believed the stories over doom and gloom in the retail sector are exaggerated to some degree, particularly since the study implies that millions of UK consumers still spend a lot of time looking for bargains each week.

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