UK Consumers Do More Online Shopping Than Other Europeans

A recent survey from Hermes, called the ‘Parcel Deliveries Usage and Attitude Survey’, has found that UK consumers are twice as likely to shop online than their French equivalents, and nearly three times more likely to shop online than those in Germany, Warc reports. The survey questioned 4,000 consumers from the three largest EU economies.

The exact statistics show that within the last three months, over a quarter of UK consumers had shopped online, compared to 14% of French and 10% of German consumers. This impressive lead was also reflected when the respondents were asked about how they plan to change their online shopping habits in the future (if at all); 42% of UK consumers said they were planning on increasing their online spending, compared to 30% of French and 28% of German respondents.

UK consumers also led the pack when it came to expanding the number of online retailers they are willing to shop with online – 73% of UK consumers said they would increase the number of retailers they engage with online. The same sentiment was held by fewer French and German consumers, at 64% and 58% respectively.

It is believed that the willingness of European consumers to engage with online shopping, especially those from the UK, can be attributed to improving delivery services in all three countries and a more reliable returns policy offered by a number of retailers.

The final reason cited in the report is the wider adoption of mobile technology – which can make the process of online shopping easier; 23% of UK consumers shop regularly on a smartphone, along with 11% of German and 9% of French consumers. However, most of the respondents shopped more regularly on a laptop.