E-commerce linked to improved quality of life

Wednesday, February 15, 2012 - 12:38 by Graham Miller

A new European study has found that safe shopping online is able to improve the quality of life of those who carry it out.

Deutsche Post DHL conducted a survey of more than 1,800 people from a variety of European countries and discovered that many people thought that their lives had been improved by e-commerce.

44 percent of German consumers said that this was the case, with about the same number citing the enjoyable, fun nature of online shopping as the main reason for the beneficial impact that it can have.

A larger proportion, close to 75, claimed that e-commerce was most advantageous to those who would not normally be able to get to high street outlets. Therefore, they rely upon the delivery services and diversity of choice that e-commerce companies can provide.

66 percent of respondents said that after they had passed through the checkout system of safe shopping online, they actively enjoyed the anticipation associated with waiting for their items to be delivered.

The majority of those questioned said that the fact that online shopping distances the process of paying for an item from receiving it means that you feel like you are getting a gift when it eventually drops through your door. Of course, the flipside of this is that retailers need to provide excellent facilities for both deliveries and returns or face customer ire and a dip in sales.

Study spokesperson, Jurgen Gerdes explained that the stressful nature of traditional high street shopping was causing people to flock to the web where there was no chance of encountering crowds, noise or confrontation.

Industry expert, Graham Jones said that e-commerce platforms were more successful if they could emulate the best bits of high street retail whilst eliminating the downsides. In this respect a more social approach to online shopping is often the best way to win over customers.