The Importance of Commuter Spending

Monday, January 21, 2019 - 10:19 by David Aiken

The results of a new study from Kinetic have once again indicated that people who commute to work on public transport are having an increasingly important impact on the overall economy thanks to the availability of safe shopping online.

Smartphone users who purchase goods and services while travelling into work or home from the office each day now splash out an impressive £22.8 billion each year, accounting for 14 per cent of the e-commerce market as a whole.

Over the course of a given seven-day period, each commuter will spend £89 online during their journey. This national average can be distributed regionally, with Londoners parting ways with £153 a week while commuting.

43 per cent of those questioned in the study said that they would usually buy online over the course of their travels four or more times every month, according to Internet Retailing.

In terms of which products are the most popular, clothing sat at the top of the pile. Three-quarters of respondents said that they have browsed and purchased fashion items while they were commuting over the last 12 months.

70 per cent said that ads which were displayed to them on their way to the office had also played a part in shaping their purchasing decisions, which reveals the ever-increasing importance of marketing in this sphere.

Report spokesperson Stuart Taylor pointed out that part of the reason online shopping was so popular on public transport came down to the fact that modern consumers do not have as much time available to visit real-world stores. With hectic schedules to maintain, it makes more sense to use the downtime that comes with travelling on public transport to seek out the best deals rather than eating into leisure time at a later point with this activity.