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Eighty per cent of Brits find better bargains online

Monday, August 1, 2011 - 10:50 by Mike Price

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UK consumers overwhelmingly believe that they can find cheaper prices on a wide range of products through safe shopping online, when compared to high street chains, according to a study conducted by shopping.com.

While prices are acknowledged to be cheaper by most, e-commerce firms are making gains when it comes to promoting the convenience and efficiency of their services.

Around a third of those questioned said that they found it easier to buy online than on the high street, which suggests that while things are looking good, there is still work to be done before online shopping outstrips bricks and mortar outlets in this arena.

Meanwhile, m-commerce use is also on the rise, with about a tenth of respondents saying that they had actually bought something using safe shopping online accessed from their smartphones.

Spokesperson, Russ Caroll, explained that the increase in m-commerce and the low costs associated with e-commerce in general would help consumers choose websites for their retail experiences more often than ever before.

As smartphones and tablets become more dominant it is likely that consumers will choose to use them for e-commerce rather than laptops and desktops.

Being able to shop on the bus or while relaxing on the sofa is clearly preferable to being hunched over a keyboard and with workplace web access often restricted, it is good to give consumers another means of going online and shopping when they are mobile.

Online retailers like Amazon are able to buck the trends of falling sales because they have established themselves as institutions in the UK which consumers trust to deliver affordable products from a huge spectrum of categories, while allowing for safe, secure transactions and swift delivery. It is clear that traditional retailers need to echo this model to guarantee survival.