Report reveals average online spend of UK consumers

Thursday, October 24, 2013 - 14:53 by Sarah Collinson

A new report from WorldPlay has just been published, with the results indicating just how much the average Brit spent online last year.

Two thousand people were questioned as part of the report, with the typical annual spend in the UK found to be ?3,370, according to Retail Times.

Forty per cent of respondents were found to carry out safe shopping online with reputable retailers at least four times over the course of the average month, with a tenth of those questioned saying that they used e-commerce sites to make purchases about 10 times within the same period.

Almost two thirds of respondents said that their e-commerce habits caused them to indulge in a bit of online retail therapy a minimum of three times a month.

People buying their groceries online spent the most money on alcohol, with men being particularly likely to splash their cash on beer, wine and spirits, with the average annual spend for this category of product hitting ?217 amongst males.

Almost half of female respondents said that they had purchased a pair of shoes from an e-commerce outlet in the last year, ahead of the 38 per cent of men who made the assertion, showing that there is still a gender gap in certain areas.

Travel remains an important area of online shopping, with people who invest in a package holiday through a web-based provider spending an average of ?1,608 in 2012.

Fifty seven per cent of respondents said that they bought books and other printed literature via the web, so even in the age of the Kindle, there is still a hunger for the written word in its traditional format.

The UK is home to one of the world's most vibrant e-commerce markets and consumer interest shows no sign of abating.