Brits Shop Online More Than Any Other Nation

Wednesday, August 14, 2019 - 11:07 by Graham Miller

Another report into the state of safe shopping online around the globe has concluded that the UK is still the biggest advocate for this segment of the retail market.

Analysts at Episerver revealed that more than a third of consumers based in Britain make online purchases on a weekly basis. This is well above the 26 per cent of North American shoppers who buy online with similar regularity.

Part of the reason for Brits being so in tune with e-commerce is the fact that they are more willing to adopt cutting-edge devices to help fuel their online shopping efforts. 34 per cent of people from the UK said that they often turn to their mobile handset to buy items online, with just over a tenth saying that they harness smart speakers at home for the same purpose.

More consumers from UK are even turning to smart watches to order online than anywhere else, meaning that there is an impressive breadth of technology involved.

Report spokesperson Joey Moore said that because shoppers in Britain were used to carrying out e-commerce activities across lots of different gadgets, it was important for retailers to ensure that they are able to provide a consistent quality of service regardless of the platform being leveraged.

Mobile optimisation of shopping sites has been a hot topic for many years now, but the use of smart speakers, voice-controlled assistants and wearable tech means that there are even more areas in which retailers need to rise to the challenge of meeting consumer expectations.

The growth of online shopping in Britain has always been an important asset of its domestic retail market, so it is impressive to see the nation remaining a world leader in this area in spite of the rapid growth seen elsewhere.